Curse of Dragons
by Maiden of the Seven Stars
Summary: Completed: AU InuKag A girl, swept off the streets to attend to Lord Naraku's dragons. A silver dragon who is far more than he seems, and a jewel, shattered one fateful night. The time has come for the curse to be revealed.
1. Prologue: The Eyes of A Dragon

**A/N:** Hello again, here's what I've been working on lately. Sad to say, apparently not too many people liked the end of Forgotten Freedom. It was sort of lame with that addition, wasn't it? But Ineeded something to pass it on into a trilogy. Well, to answer a question, the person who made the collars didn't set in the counterspell, it was one of the Higurashi priestesses who opposed the collars. She was powerful, and alone in her opinion, so when she tried to add a counterspellher powerscould only make a near impossible, and also cruel, one. Anyways, on with Curse of Dragons.

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_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Darkwolfgal:.**_

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_**.:Prologue: The Eyes of the Dragon:.**_

"Where did he go?" a voice cried.

A swoosh of wings, the clicking of talons on the cobblestone road.

"No clue, we must've lost him." Came the reply.

More clicking, a grating sound that hurt his ears.

"Cut that out Taimen, we must keep searching." Said the first voice.

"Searching to do our jobs, or to please the Lady Kikyo?" Jeered the second, though in good humor.

Pathetic humans, thinking if they controlled their dragons they were invincible. Dragons were their weapons, their steeds, no better than those equines that were of use only to the poor. It made him want to rip their throats out, and if they weren't Riders he would do just that. As long as they were dragon riders their beasts would protect them, even these small weaklings that were the police squads.

Pity to see such creatures being transformed into no more than intelligent equines. He knew what they were, he had found out what hideous things that had been done to them, and he was determined to stop it. If only-

"Hey, what was that?"

There was a breathy snort and the clicking of talons.

"Taimen's on his scent. Lets go."

With a growl he leapt from the sheltering branches of the tree and out onto the roofs, his feet making a small array of pattering sounds as he ran, feeling more than seeing the dragons behind him.

Both were in the air already, as dragons could be, their shorter legs tucked close to their long undulating bodies, where the neck and frame were of the same thickness, carrying their riders were the neck joined with their chests. Both riders were urging their mounts on, and not at all gently.

There was a tensing in the air, a slight pause as the dragons neared, and he leapt for the sky… Only to have the sting of the whip around his ankle bring him back down to earth where he was promptly chained and tied by the humans, their dragons watching carefully as he was strung between their necks, a chain and cuff binding each of his arms in a separate direction. He was helpless.

The dragons unfurled their wings and leapt into the air at the same moment, dragging him between them with taunt chains, stretched tight and hooked well to the links on their collars, there was no way out.

Half and hour later they landed in the center of a complex. He recognized it, it was a dragon complex where the creatures would be bred and then sold, trained or untrained, and he knew the complex's mistress too. He knew her all too well.

"Inuyasha." Said the voice, right on cue, and sending chills up his spine.

A priestess emerged from one shadowed archway, her skin pale in the moonlight, her hair of a dark brown-black and her face of chiseled ice.

"Kikyo." He said with a growl as she came closer, unable to believe he had once loved this woman. All she had done was betrayed him, used him, and now she wanted his head so he wouldn't reveal what he knew.

"I'm glad you remember, I thought you'd deserted me when you found out about this place." She said, her words monotonous though there was a sneering sound to them. He bared his fangs.

"It's wrong, how could you do it?" He growled, struggling but the two dragons held him fast and he could only watch as the priestess drew closer, close enough so that he could have grabbed her, if he could move his arms.

"How? For the profit, for the status, for what I could gain, Inuyasha." Kikyo sneered again, "You, who have no place in society, would never understand."

"Oh I understand, you're just a worthless b-" He stopped as she clamped a hand on his shoulder, sending a wave of purifying magic pulsing through him. It took everything in him not to cry out.

"Oh Inuyasha, you are only a fool, a fool with information I would much rather keep secret." Now her words were tinged with malice as she removed her hand from his shoulder and snapped her fingers to the guards, who blinked like mind washed servants and urged their beasts to drag him forwards.

They turned through hallways twice the size of the dragons that held him and then into a large room with only a single candle to light it, illuminating the table it stood on and the articles on the table.

A large and heavy collar with iron barbs on it, an earthenware bowl of an inky red-black substance, and a brush of polished cherry blossom wood, soaked in blood.

Kikyo strode across the room and lifted the heavy collar, its halves sealed with a hinge, and turned to him.

"Information, Inuyasha, that you'll never be able to reveal." She said and snapped the collar around his neck before stepping back and taking the brush, dipping it into the inky red-black substance, painting a strip of color across his chest from his left shoulder, forming a cross by painting another stripe from his right. He wrinkled his nose.

"Dragon's blood, Inuyasha, a prime ingredient." She sneered, a circle being drawn on his chest, over the intersection of the first two strokes. A vertical stroke across his forehead left the disgusting stuff dripping down his nose, a flick on each cheek made him growl. With a menacing smile she stepped back to eye the results.

"Change Inuyasha, change and know you will never turn back." And with that last sneer she blew out the candle and left with the two dragon riders, leaving Inuyasha alone to do as he pleased, if his limbs hadn't been aching with sudden pain.

Two amber eyes glowed in the darkness, elongating as the shadows shifted, becoming feral, wild, deadly, the eyes of a dragon.

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A/N: Well? What do you all think? It's a bit of a different approach. I'll wait a day or two before adding Chapter 1, which Kagome will be in.

Snapshots:

-She was doomed, she knew she was, but she had to keep running.

-"_There are people who would give anything for this jewel."_

_- ..._Andsmashed against the bridge, shattering into who knows how many pieces.


	2. Chapter 1: The Shattering

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews, and I'm sorry this is so late but I was really busy. Can you believe that ALL of the stores don't have a PS2 in stock? I can't believe it!

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_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Darkwolfgal:.**_

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_**.:Chapter 1: The Shattering:.**_

The pitter-patter of rain hit the cobblestone roads, sliding in torrents in the crevices between the stones, sliding into the ditches to either side of the path. The weather was horrible, murky, wet and downright miserable. Thunder rumbled in the distance, an occasional flash of lightning flashing in accompaniment.

She didn't care; she actually thanked the gods for the conditions. In such weather the dragon riders had been grounded, smart enough not to risk the winds, and their steeds could not smell her in this rain. Her footsteps were drowned out by the thunder and the swish of her sopping kimono was hidden in the rain.

Still, she was wet, cold, and tiring fast. It wouldn't be long before she had to find a place to rest, to escape this night, and after the night there was morning, and morning would only heighten the chase. She was doomed, she knew she was, but she had to keep running. There was nothing else to do, nothing else to live for, and she had made a promise.

She could see Kaede's face, usually round and cheery, haggard and grim, pale as winter's cold snow.

'_Promise me, Kagome, promise me!' she had pleaded, clutching at the girl's hand with dying strength._

'_Kaede, save your strength!' she cried, sobbing at her knees beside Kaede's pallet._

'_Promise me, Kagome, that whatever happens you will not give up.' The woman insisted, coughing hoarsely._

'_Don't say such things, you're going to be alright!' Kagome sobbed, burying her face in Kaede's soiled blankets._

'_Kagome, my time has come, you must accept that child.' Kaede said, 'But promise me.'_

'_I promise, Kaede.' She whispered in return._

'_Good girl, now take this and guard it well, there are people who would give anything for this jewel.' The dying woman said, handing Kagome a light pink jewel, a little larger than a marble, strung around a coarse thread._

'_Do not let them have it,' she coughed, 'They- They will-'_

_Kaede's hand dropped and her flesh went cold, her eyes closing peacefully, her haggard face a plane of serenity. She was gone, her only family was gone, and all she had was this jewel…_

The jewel the dragon riders wanted, craved, and the reason why they were chasing her. Somehow they needed this jewel, and if she hadn't been foolish enough to show it to a lady at the pawnshop this would have never happened.

'_Child, you cannot pawn the clothes off your back, and you have not shoes nor gloves nor any other articles of value. I'm sorry dear, but this is a pawnshop, not a charity.'_

'_I understand, ma'am, I just want work.' Kagome said, her eyes downcast._

'_Sorry hun, but workers are not needed in a pawnshop. If you don't have anything to pawn I'm going to ask you to leave.' The lady had replied, a little harshly._

'_But please ma'am, I'll work for little pay, just a place to sleep and meals! Two meals a day is-'_

'_Girl, for heavens sake, do not ask me again! It is hard enough to support myself!' the pawn lady replied with a cry of exasperation._

'_Come now, Lady Penna, give her a chance.' A deep voice had said from behind her, catching them both by surprise._

_There stood a dragon rider, armor glinting and the badge of a bronze dragon gleaming on his chest. He was a captain, one of the police captains._

'_Rider, I do not need work nor have the means to pay for it.' Lady Penna growled, though she was more subdued._

'_Child, do you have anything else you might wish to pawn, besides your own clothes?' the rider asked._

'_Well… no.' she had replied, but the rider had noticed the silence where she had been pondering over the jewel, and he saw the coarse thread around her neck._

'_Around your neck, child, what is it?' he asked. He was a police officer, a dragon rider, a protector of the people._

_So she had shown him._

What a mistake, she thought savagely as she ducked into an alleyway, her feet slapping in puddles. She searched for a moment and was rewarded with a slight lean-to. It would do for her; a beggar had little choice, especially a beggar on the run.

'_Stay there, do not move a muscle.' She gasped in fear as the dragon rider stood herself beside his dragon as he turned and ran down the street, blowing the dragon-shaped whistle around his neck._

_The police whistle, something was wrong and a moment later she found out exactly what._

'_This way, I've found the jewel, Lord Naraku will be pleased.' Called the excited rider._

'_Yes, it's real, it was spell hidden, why would a fake be protected by spells?' a pause 'Oh be sensible, she's a beggar, she doesn't know what it is… Of course we can take it from her, she's a dimwit, they all are-'_

_She had heard enough and ran, ignoring the dragon's bugle as she left its side. She heard the men hollering wildly and the bronze rider was crying out in anguish. There were a few moments of silence as she ran down the streets before two dragons bore down on her, the bronze rider shouting out._

'_Stop, girl, stop now!' he called, the words backed by his dragon's bugle._

'_Yes, girl, we only want to talk and trade!' the other rider shouted, his dragon trumpeting as it flew overhead._

_She took to a narrow alley, they could not land their beasts, but they still screamed for her to stop. She continued to run, Kaede's words fresh in her mind. She had said 'They' and she had not understood. Now she did._

'_They' were the dragon riders, the Lord Naraku._

'_They' wanted Kaede's jewel._

"What are you?" she whispered aloud, curled tightly in a small ball, not easy for a girl of fourteen, and fumbling the jewel with numb fingers.

"Why do they want you so bad? Why did Kaede want me to keep you from them?" she asked angrily, tears starting to roll down her soiled cheeks.

"Why-" but her questions were cut short by a dragon's trumpeting and the police whistle.

She got to her feet to run again, seeing the shapes of the dragon wing flying above her. She had to get away, she had to, or else keep the jewel from them, but she could not run fast enough, she could not run anymore. She was too tired.

'What speaks without a mouth, what has a bed but doesn't sleep, what runs without legs?'

The old riddle came back to her as she ran, feeling her legs getting numb and her feet hurting.

"The river!" she whispered, and there it was, around the bend. She would throw herself into it, at least that would carry her beyond the dragon's reach. It flowed somewhere; she had always wanted to know where.

It was time to find out.

With a burst of strength she ran out on the bridge and stood there, panting, and raised the jewel above her head, letting the riders see it. She held it threateningly, dangerously, daring them to come closer. Daring them to make her drop it into the river.

They got the message; they stopped and hovered while she panted. She knew she would need energy to swim in the river so she took a rest then, holding the jewel with one hand as the rain pounded down on them all, though the storm was less fierce than before.

And then, her fingers slipped.

The jewel fell, its smooth surface glinting as one last flash of lighting flickered feebly over the horizon…

… And smashed against the bridge, shattering into who knows how many pieces.

There was silence and a ripple of chatter amongst the riders as she stared in shock at the shattered jewel. How was she supposed to protect it now?

She felt the wind stir, the rain slow, and the dragons' swoop.

She had to do something, she had to keep the jewel from them, and she shoved the shards off the bridge, into the river.

The dragon rider roared with anger, pulling his steed to a stop, and she took the moment to leap over the bridge railing, and right into the talons of yet another dragon.

"Let me go!" she screamed as she pounded against the dragon's forelegs. The dragon merely rolled its eyes, its rider patting its shoulder.

"You're not going anywhere, I'm sure our Chief of Dragons would like to speak with you." The rider said before they turned back to the city.

She stared down at the river, the jewel fragments long gone in it's rushing waters, and a single tear rolled down her cheek

---------

"Get up." The cold, nasal voice spoke.

It sent shills running down her spine. She got up.

"Well now, what is so important it could not wait until morning?" The voice spoke again, annoyed under a layer of menacing ice.

She kept her eyes averted, as she should, and did not speak since the question had not been addressed to her.

"My lord, the child was in possession of the Shikon no Tama."

She gasped and the ruffling of some sort of robe told her lord Naraku was interested as well. Never in all her dreams had she thought she was carrying the Shikon. Until now she was just a girl carrying out her adopted mother's death wish, but that had been the Jewel of Four Souls… and she had shattered it.

"What do you mean by _was_?" The lord asked, she could almost feel his rage.

"I'm sorry, my lord, but when we tried to retrieve it she was scared away."

"Yes, but you have her now…"

"Prior to her capture she somehow shattered the jewel."

"And where are the fragments?"

"Many miles downriver by now, my lord. It was raining, the river was large and the shards sunk. The dragon riders could not follow."

"Very well. You may go, as for you, child."

Chills ran up her spine again and she could feel a bead of sweat sliding from her forehead. She bowed.

"Look up." The lord commanded. She did, only to meet narrowed slits of a deep purple, outlined with some kind of crimson makeup. He was creepy.

"Why did you evade my riders, why did you disobey their orders?" He questioned, his questions like knives. Suddenly her exploded with pain, her eyes watering as something groped through her thoughts, seizing hold of her.

"You will tell the truth." Naraku said.

"My lord, I did not know what I was carrying, and my mother gave the jewel to me as a gift on her deathbed. She made me promise to keep it away from 'them'. She never said why, or what it was, but I promised. Then, I assumed that the dragon riders were what she met by them."

"So you did not know what you were possessing?"

"It was round and smooth, I supposed it was some kind of toy, or treasure."

"Why did you think my dragon riders were what your mother was talking about?"

"I was… scared… and the rider that saw me and asked for it, there was this gleam in his eye. It scared me." Her words were breaking now and the pain in her head shifted but then, a moment later, it receded.

"Girl, my riders are the servers of justice, I am very sorry that one has frightened you, but you should never doubt them."

She gulped and nodded, would this be all?

"But I cannot have you knowing what we are seeking and spreading it throughout the city. Therefore-"

"But it wasn't my fault!" She cried suddenly, angrily, her eyes meeting Naraku's yet again, his narrowed menacingly.

"Feisty one, aren't you? Fearless too, I'd suppose. I'm sure I could find something for you to do? Perhaps the brothel, they could always use more girl…"

Not the brothel, anything but lord Naraku's private brothel…

"Scared, aren't you?" the lord sneered. "Yes, I think-"

Suddenly a side door to the throne room opened and two breathless riders ran in, nearly tripping as they struggled to bow.

"I'm busy." Naraku said, anger coating his icy words.

"We are sorry, we knew, but this is a matter of importance." One of the riders mumbled. She caught a silver glint of his badge as he stood up. A captain.

"What is it, and be quick about it!" Naraku snapped.

"We've caught another dragon, my lord-"

"That's hardly news worth my attention."

"Yes, sir, we know that but this one's different. It's silver."

Silver? Dragons were mottled colors. Dark browns, greens, blacks, deep blues. Occasionally a lighter brown, or one that seemed tan, but never silver.

"Continue."

"Well, sir, it was particularly fierce and intelligent actually. It made us actually attack it, more for survival than capture. And then, it's taken a day to get here, his wounds that we inflicted healed overnight!"

There was a pause.

"Interesting. What of it now?"

"We've got it chained, sir, with its wings bound in our largest stall."

"Its reaction?"

"Angry, roaring, the dragon boys are afraid of it. They don't know what it can do, and nobody's willing to find out. Besides, they will be shorthanded already with their own beasts."

"Very well then." The lord turned back to her.

"I think we've found a job for you, our newest dragon girl."

She gulped and shivered. She didn't want to have to face off against a dragon, especially one that was as feral as this silver one sounded, but a second later she was grabbed by her arms and led out.

They followed a maze of corridors, her two guards acknowledging the way with a grunt or a shove. She stalked after them, wishing their grips would loosen so she could slip away. No such luck.

She was led into a wide courtyard, which turned out to be the palace grounds. Long undulating hills of emerald grass with fenced in paddocks towards one end and gardens at the other. There were neat trimmed buildings near the paddocks, the slave quarters, and stables near them as well, but she didn't have time to gawk. She was pushed into a large building with tall and wide corridors, steered through the first-or was it second?- door on her right.

"What do you want?" snapped a voice belonging to a man sitting behind the solitary desk in the room.

"Sir, we've orders from Lord Naraku to deliver this girl to you to be a dragon girl for the new one, sir." One of the riders said.

"Has she been learned, does she have any experience with dragons?" the man asked, not looking up from his paperwork.

"No sir, Lord Naraku needed to keep her quiet."

She growled softly, her hands clenching into fists. It was as if she was a possession exchanging hands. It was as if she wasn't there! What kind of people were these?

"I see, well the silver one should take care of her just fine." He clapped his hands and a young fox demon opened the door behind him.

"Send for Rin and tell her to escort this new one around. Bring fresh clothes." The man said before waving the riders away, the door shutting behind them. Then the man addressed her.

"Your name."

"Kagome."

There was a pause as the man waited for her surname. When none came he scribbled on the parchment he had then continued.

"Age."

"14."

"Parents."

"I don't know."

"Status."

"Beggar."

"Schooling."

"Decent."

There was another pause after that.

"What can you do?" the man asked indifferently.

"Read, write, and figure." Kagome replied mechanically.

"Where did you learn this?"

"I don't know, I've always known."

At that point a knock came from the door and a girl walked in, her orange and white kimono swishing over her bare feet.

"Rin, this is Kagome, she's the newest dragon girl for the Silver." The man said before waving them off.

Rin took her hand with her free one, the other was clutching a pile of clothes, and dragged Kagome out the door, her smaller legs still moving fast enough to have Kagome nearly trot to keep up. They turned a few corners and entered a room. Kagome recognized a bathhouse.

"Get undressed and washed, then put these on." Rin said in an overly cheery voice, handing her the clothes, a plain green and white kimono with no shoes.

"What about my shoes?"

"Leave them here, they'll be placed in your room. You get used to moving barefoot, with shoes you startle the dragons, their hearing is incredibly acute." Rin responded with the same nonchalance.

She nodded and undressed as she saw Rin was waiting for her to. She couldn't run away with the other girl's eye on her so she laid her clothes on the ground and submerged into the nearest pool of hot water, rinsing herself off quickly and accepting the coarse towel and brush Rin offered her. When she tried to return them the girl shook her head.

"They're yours now, put them in your room." The girl said before motioning to her new clothes. She quickly put them on, noting that the kimono was of slightly finer material than her old one, and followed Rin out.

"Where exactly is my room?" she asked as they continued down the hall.

"You should be asking where your dragon is. That's what's important." Rin said. "Your room is connected to your dragon's stall. There is an outer door, but you can check it out after you get through with your dragon. I wouldn't know where it is."

She paused and turned another corner, opening a door and holding it open for Kagome.

She stepped through and immediately heard the snuffling and shifting of scales, smelling the slightly musk odor of the dragons.

"In front of you are the stalls, they're rather large, and to your right is the feed room." Rin pointed, turning through the archway to the right.

She followed and was astounded by the barrels upon barrels of different foods. To the left were the meat counters where freshly butchered meat was laid out. To the right were all sorts of herbs, each labeled with a number, and in the center were large cauldrons of something that smelled like stew.

"Dragons get three meals a day, if they're bad they receive two." Rin said after a moments pause.

"Breakfast is light, mainly the porridge," she pointed to the cauldrons, "And small cubes." She motioned to the right and the left, towards the smallest counter where small cubes of beef sat.

"Lunch is the second counter, mixed in some porridge, and dinner is strictly large meat with very little porridge." Rin finished, then motioned to the wheelbarrows off to the side.

"Use those, they've been enchanted so they're nearly weightless and constantly balanced." Rin said, motioning for her to grab a barrow. She did and saw that Rin was right, the barrows were nearly weightless and moved easily in her hands.

"Look over on your right and you'll see a chart. That shows what every dragon has been getting, yours is the last since he's the newest." Rin said again, moving easily across the wall.

"The Silver needs beef, lots of it, and porridge. Add herb 3 to the mixture in the barrow." She read.

"What's herb 3?" Kagome asked.

"The jars are labeled, we usually can't remember what's what so they assigned number to the herbs." Rin replied. "I believe 3 is the sedative, particular in its strength, though the dragons can't tell the difference."

She nodded and headed to the left, moving her barrow to where Rin pointed and asked for beef. A butcher dumped it into her barrow before he set to work on a bull; she turned away so she didn't see what became of it.

Next she made for the porridge, using the bucket to heave the sloppy substance into her barrow and then a mixing pole to stir it. Turning she made her way to the herb jar labeled #3 and scooped out a good amount of it, sprinkling it over the meal before returning to the door where Rin was standing.

"This way." The girl beckoned and again went off, striding into a massive hall of stalls, dragon heads poking through certain 'windows' in the doors to look at them. Rin led her down towards a far end where the windows in the doors disappeared.

"Bewitched for silence, these are the troublemakers." Rin said before pointing towards a large doorway.

"That's the Silver's." she said, "See you in the morning, I'll meet you at the feeding room." Kagome had to bite her tongue to not reply, 'If I'm still alive by then.'

With a deep breath she opened the door and shoved her barrow in, turning and closing the door before looking for her charge.

He was silver, his hide gleaming in the lamp light, curled slightly with his head resting on his forepaws, their talons unsheathed. Around his neck was clamped a collar which was chained to a wall and his wings were bound with chains. She could see that his hind legs had been hobbled.

Suddenly the amber eyes flashed open, gleaming with feral rage, before glinting strangely with recognition.

"You!" the dragon roared, springing to its feet the best it could and rearing its neck back, his long fangs gleaming, and driving his forelegs into the ground, making the straw quiver and shake, his jaws snapping to a close hardly a foot away from her head.

She staggered backwards, into the corner, and pushed on the door, only to find it locked while the dragon raged.

"YOU!" it roared again, jaws agape, and she blinked in shock. The beast was talking!

Talking, and about to kill her…

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**A/N:** So what do you think of this? It's going to be a while before the plot really gets revealed. Anyways, please review!


	3. Chapter 2: The Silver Dragon

**A/N:** Really sorry for the delay, holidays and vacations and all. Happy new year!! Unless you're chinese of course. Oh, I'll be changing my pen name toYoukai of the Seven Stars sometime after I publish this, so everything _should_ change... I don't know how it works.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, and the idea of the dragons is based on Mercedes Lackey's Joust and a bit of Anne McCaffrey's Pern. The Curse is all mine, so no sticky fingers!

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_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Darkwolfgal:.**_

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_**.:Chapter 2: The Silver Dragon:.**_

She shuddered and pressed herself into the corner, her arms crossed over her head in neck, just as Kaede had told her to do if there was any trouble so long ago. Now she clutched to her memories, shivering with fear and sweat, waiting for the dragon to finish her off.

He was lashing at her, falling short each time because of his chain, but cornering her nonetheless. If she tried to move he would kill her, if she stayed where she was she'd eventually die. Enchanted stalls or not, the chains would have to break under this strain eventually, and the dragon had all the time he needed.

His jerking was rhythmic, a straining and jerking with the rubbing of leather against scales and then a jangling of chain. A lunge and then a pause before the dragon lunged again, and so it continued for what seemed like an eternity, thought it was really only a few minutes, and then silence, except for the panting of the dragon.

She moved her arms away, feeling her forehead wet with sweat, and looked up at the massive silver beast, larger than most of the other dragons that she'd seen. He was glaring down his long silver snout, his amber eyes narrowed with anger and no little annoyance. She thought she even saw a pang of hurt, but it must have been an illusion.

"Pah, you wouldn't go by the name Kikyo would you?" It snarled, its jaws snapping together with a clack.

It was speaking again, how could it be speaking? Dragons did not speak, they couldn't, they weren't smart enough, but she wouldn't argue with those fangs and talons.

"N-no, my name's Kagome." She managed to stutter, staring at him.

His talking wasn't the only thing that separated him from the other dragons. He was missing the two whisker-like appendages that sprouted from his snout, ahead of the nostrils, and his ears were not the small indents of the other dragons but elongated and sleek, more like long, thin fox ears. His claws were longer and seemed less able to sheathe than the other dragons', and his tail was long and lean, whipping around behind him and occasionally hitting the wall.

"Keh, then I suppose you're the new dragon girl." He growled stomping forwards again. She recoiled but he reached for the barrow instead of her, grabbing it with his jaws and dragging it towards his claws, which brought it back towards him. He reclined back on his haunches and sniffed the meat delicately before growling again, shoving it away, though catching it before it went flying towards Kagome and kicking it into the wall instead.

"What's wrong?" she asked, seeing the barrow slam forcefully into the wall and losing at least half of its contents in the journey.

The dragon eyed her in an almost curious fashion before snapping at the air.

"What's wrong? Well you should know, you were the one who prepared the meal." He rumbled, lying back down with his head on his forepaws again.

"I don't see what's wrong, I followed the instructions to the letter." She pointed out, getting cautiously to her feet.

The dragon snorted, its tail lashing.

"And what might these 'instructions' have read?" He growled.

"I put in beef, the porridge, and herb 3." She replied, dusting her kimono off self-consciously. The dragon snorted again, making her look up.

"Herb 3." He rumbled. "Sedative."

Wait, Rin had told her herb 3 was a sedative, but dragons weren't supposed to be able to detect it. How had this one done so? Add that to why it was talking, why it was silver, and why it looked different and she'd have a good quiz question.

"What are you?" she managed to say at last.

"A dragon." The dragon snorted, his eyes half closed.

He was hiding something and she could feel it.

"No, what are you really?" she persisted, taking a step forwards. Big mistake.

In a nanosecond the dragon's languor disappeared and he lunged at her, grabbing at her with a forepaw, his talons sheathed but still dangerous since they did not go all the way.

She screamed as he brought her up into the air, sitting on his haunches again.

"I am a dragon, that's all you need to know." It growled, it's claws shifting their grip on her, a show of dexterity.

"Now then, who are you?"

"I'm Kagome."

"Now you're the one who's hiding something. Speak, girl, or I'll eat you. You don't have a sedative on you." He rumbled threateningly. She decided to oblige.

"I'm Kagome, orphan adopted by the laundress Kaede who passed away five years ago."

"That's better." The grip on her waist loosened a little, though not enough for her to wriggle free.

"Why are you here?"

"I was captured by Naraku's riders, they were hoping you'd keep me quiet."

The dragon snorted at that, a breath of hot air that streamed through her hair.

"I don't eat humans, except when one's not answering my questions." He growled. "Why were you caught?" His claws tightened in a threat.

"I-I was carrying the S-Shikon Jew-"

"The Shikon no Tama?" At once the dragon snapped to attention, his muscles tensing, including those of his claw.

"Yes, the Jewel of Four souls-"

"Where is it now?" The dragon rumbled, cutting her off harshly.

"I have no clue, now could you please set me down?" She said, pushing at the tightening silver talons. He dropped her and circled, neck arched and swishing.

"Why do they want it?" He growled.

"Why do you want to know?" She countered.

"I have my reasons, human, now speak before I make you dinner."

"I don't know." She said, it was the truth and the dragon growled.

"Why do you want it?" She asked but the dragon just grumbled.

"I have my reasons." He said again and lay down, his head resting on his forepaws yet again. Was she mistaken or did he look tired? His eyes were already half-lidded.

"Can you tell me where my room is?" She asked again, deciding it was time for her to rest as well, and she was hungry too, darn it.

"At the back on the right." The dragon rumbled. "A door, a slightly different shade. Push it to the side." His eyes closed.

She nodded and examined the wall, finding that there was a patch of different colored wood. Pushing in and to the side she slid the door away, revealing a small room with a small window over a bed, a real bed, a drawer and a table. There was a rug on the floor and clean blankets on her bed, and a door that lead outside but after trying it she found it locked.

With a yawn she decided to explore in the morning, she was too tired, and she fell into the bed, falling asleep just as she pulled up the covers.

Outside the silver dragon lay, eyes closed, his mind submerged in thought. Who was this girl, for starters, and why did she look so much like Kikyo? There was only one thing different, their smell. Kikyo was cold, rushing water, with an earthy touch to it. She was the flowers and the fresh spring air, mixed with the scent of a fresh rain. They differed in personality, where Kikyo was etched in ice she was the flare of a newly struck fire. So why were they so much alike? And the Shikon, the girl had possessed the Shikon, and she had power too, much like Kikyo's power but he saw it. It wasn't Kikyo's icy blue, it was a flare of pink and violet. He could see it in her eyes.

With a rumble he shifted, trying to spread his wings and failing because of the chains, before deciding he'd worry about it tomorrow, proving he got something to eat without a sedative added into it. He was just too tired…

---------

She awoke as the light shone through the window above her head, hitting her square in the eyes and making her squint. It was probably what the window was for.

Well done, she congratulated herself; you've survived the night.

Amazing really, considering the dragon had gone from ready to eat to passive, unless throwing threats could be counted as passive.

With a sigh she threw on her kimono, or perhaps it was a uniform, and tried the outer door again. Locked, again, so there was only one way back to the feeding rooms, through the dragon's stall.

With a worried sigh she pushed the door open a bit, calling out.

"Dragon?"

There was no response and she opened the door before gasping in fear and staggering back.

She had thought he'd look menacing the night before when he had threatened her and nearly bit her head off. She had been mistaken; it was as if the dragon had changed overnight. Before her a massive silver dragon crouched, muscles tensed and chains tight. How could she have not seen the layers of rippling muscle beneath that supple hide, or the way his talons gleamed in the lamplight? He looked positively feral, a wild untamable creature, and the rumbling snarl that came from his chest made her yelp.

Where had that nice, or maybe not so nice, talking dragon gone? There was barely a shred of that human intelligence left; she could barely see the gleam of recognition in his wild amber eyes.

Readying herself for a bone crushing snap she stepped slowly out of her room, on the balls of her feet.

Nothing, no reaction at all, not even a halfhearted snap. The dragon just watched her, watched her and let her pass.

With a push she shoved the door opened and closed it, barring it tightly, just in case, and then ran for the feeding room, where she was supposed to meet Rin. Instead, two guards snagged her on her way there.

"Lord Naraku will speak with you now." One of them growled as he grabbed her wrist.

"Wait, I'm supposed to be-"

"Lord Naraku's orders are law." Came the growl, this time from the other guard as he seized her other wrist. "Come quietly."

With that they were off again, through the grounds to the palace, into the maze of corridors and then out again, in the place where she had first met Naraku. She supposed it could be called a throne room, though there was only a comfortable mat for the Lord, not a throne.

She bowed.

"Get up, I see you've survived the night."

She unbent and nodded.

"Your observations?" It was a command.

"He was wild… he tried to eat me…" She paused; she didn't think she should tell them he could talk.

"And then I started talking to him, and he stopped and I showed him the food, which he went mad for. Afterwards he got all sleepy and I found my room." The truth, he could not say she had lied.

"Good, you've outlived your usefulness." Naraku said, nodding to a scribe who left with Kagome's words on his scroll.

"Kagura."

His adviser strode forwards and bowed.

"Have her brought to the brothel, she will be an excellent addition to the stock."

The woman nodded, her crimson eyes staring, no glaring, at Kagome, though there was a flash of pity there.

Kagura nodded to the guards and lead the way, leaving her only to follow helplessly, condemned to her fate.

Again they strode through courtyards and corridors, so many it made her dizzy, before they came out in a room full of perfume and incense. A woman stood there, doing some paperwork while that same young lad that the dragon man had summoned waited at her side.

"Akara, this new girl will serve you nicely. Lord Naraku's orders, she goes by Kagome."

Kagura said curtly before turning to leave, the two guards dropping Kagome and following.

The woman scribbled once more on the parchment before handing it back to the kistune, who took off like a shot. Then Akara turned to her.

"Kagome, is it?"

She nodded.

"Alright then, as soon as Shippo gets back he'll escort you to the dining hall. Eat, wash up, business begins at nine." Akara said curtly before turning to sign another few documents.

With a worried gulp at the mention of 'business' she nodded and waited. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and the young fox demon, Shippo, returned.

"Shippo, this is Kagome, get her cleaned up for business." Akara said without looking up, the little demon nodded and motioned for her to follow. She did, seeing there was nothing else to do.

As soon as they had left the room Shippo turned to her.

"Hi!" he chirped, she stopped and stared not expecting a demon-a youkai!- to be speaking to her in a friendly fashion.

"I'm Shippo, I'm in charge of doing all of the errands around here. Why are you here?" He asked, his words coming in tumbles from a childish high-pitched voice.

"Naraku wanted to keep me quiet about something, so he sent me to the brothel." She grimaced but Shippo looked delighted.

"Oh it'll be so much fun! You can play with the other girls, and then every night other people come and play with you!" he looked ecstatic. "You'll love it here!"

She grimaced, not liking the sound of that, but quickly hid it.

"Shippo, do you know what a brothel is?" she asked, trying to sound gentle.

"Yup, it's like a playhouse, but for grownups." He replied, grabbing her hand and leading her down the hall.

She fell silent, her suspicions confirmed. Shippo didn't know what a brothel really was.

And she hoped he'd never have to find out.

- - -

There was a knock at the door of her new room, which was a smallish cell like space with only a pallet and a small stand in it.

With a feeling of dread she got to her feet and opened the door, allowing herself to be chained by the guards and led out into the hallway, guided down the corridor and into the meeting room, where she was tied to a beam on the stage and made to wait.

Her stomach squirmed with disgust as the men entered, drunk, fat, smelling of sweat and bulging with coins, coins used to the buy the services of the brothel's woman. It made her want to retch, and now there was actually something in her belly to throw up.

It could have been worse, she knew. She could end up in a city brothel, hardly clothed, hardly fed, and a whole lot worse. Naraku's private brothel was better, but she still hated it.

The bidding began as Akara came up to the podium. She could see why Akara was managing the brothel; she was completely homely, not pretty at all. Nothing about her attracted the eye; though she wasn't so ugly none would like her presence. She was hardly noticeable, just noticeable enough to be paid attention to when the time came.

Four girls were auctioned off, their bidders fat and nearly buried in gold, before it was her turn. Shivering, she allowed Akara to lead her up to the podium and the bids flowed in.

Apparently the men wanted to test 'the new girl'. See what she could do, and it revolted her even more. They were fat, lousy, rich, spoiled, and defiled-

Her thoughts were interrupted as the doors burst open and two guards entered the room, one of them carrying a scroll.

"Lord Naraku orders the custody of the girl, Kagome." The one with the scroll read.

There was a murmur, a few angry cries, and then a demand for a refund as Akara released her chains and the guards grabbed her arms. She could still hear the din as she was towed out of the room and into the night.

"Why does he want me?" she demanded as they strolled down the torch lit path. The two guards exchanged glances.

"The Lord said not that we could not answer her questions." One said.

"Alright." Agreed the second. "He doesn't exactly want you, he needs you."

"Why?" Lord Naraku needed her? What on Earth was going on?

"The Silver Dragon. He sort of…"

"He savaged three of our best dragon boys who went in after you. He wouldn't touch the breakfast they brought." The other guard finished with a grunt. Her face paled, savaged was obviously a less gruesome word for eaten, but just as bad. "We got the two out before they were devoured, but they were only fit for death afterwards."

"So why me?" she continued, trying to ignore the scenes of blood and gore that entered her mind.

"Because you were the only one who went in there and came back, alive." Replied the other. "The silver dragon is too valuable to kill, and would become a wonderful powerhouse in battle if it would cooperate."

She nodded since it made sense.

"Don't tell the Lord, but I overheard him saying he'd make you a dragon rider if it would get the Silver dragon into his ranks." The first guard mumbled.

Her, Kagome, a scourge off the streets, become a dragon rider? Naraku must be desperate, but if the Silver could talk, sense what other dragons couldn't, and heal he would be a valuable asset.

"You know what to do, girl." The second guard said as he swung open the door to the dragon compound.

"Actually, I don't." Kagome mumbled.

"Do whatever you have to do to get that beast to calm down." The first said in answer as they shoved her in and closed the door. She didn't hear them move away, so she knew they were standing guard.

"Might as well give it a shot." She said to no one and turned to the feeding room, loading a barrow with huge cuts of meat, managing to get an ox leg onto the pile without anything toppling over. First she'd bribe him with food, un-sedated food, from what the guards had said and from how the dragon acted he hadn't eaten for over a day, and considering that wild dragons hardly got good game he could have gone without sustenance for a week or so.

She wheeled down the isle and towards the end, unbarring the door and pushing it aside, pushing the barrow before her.

She was met immediately with a clash of sharp teeth, a flurry of straw, and a gust of heated air from the dragon's breath before he stepped back. She could still see the faint recognition in his eyes and hoped it would last.

"I'm back." She said.

Her response was a snarl as the dragon took in the barrow and inhaled deeply, his muscles tensing as he recognized the smell of pure meat without anything else in it. The feral feeling in his eyes was growing and he lunged, though his chain was shorter than before and he fell back, snarling.

With a shudder she realized she couldn't get the food to him like this, he'd probably hurt her before he realized it. She turned to the wall, hoping there might be some sort of trough. There was.

She dumped the meat into the trough letting everything slide in before moving the barrow aside. She could see the dragon jerking towards the meat, his silver scales grating against the collar, his chain taunt with ravenous hunger. He couldn't reach; she'd have to loosen the chain.

Taking a deep breath she approached him.

"Hey there." She said, taking a few steps forwards. He snapped at her, recognizing fresh meat.

"I don't taste good you know." She said again, taking another few steps. Her talking was stilling him, for now, but he snapped his jaws at her.

"Hold still, there's good meat in the trough. You can have it all, I'll even get you more, just don't eat me!" It was more of a plea then anything else, and with a quick inhalation she ran for the chained hook on the wall, unclipping it as fast as she dared and ducked.

Immediately she felt the chain lash at the air above her as the dragon ran for the food trough, bedding scattering as he dove into the meat, which was quickly becoming bulges in his throat. He slurped and snapped like a mad thing and she knew he'd need more.

Quickly she grabbed the barrow and ran for the feeding room, loading it full again before heading back, at a slower pace, and reentered the pen. The dragon was stripping the meat from the ox bone but as she dumped the meat into the trough he got back to his feet.

"Thanks." He grumbled and she noticed the feral look to him had died down. He looked much more like the silver beast she had been talking to the night before.

She gulped and nodded as he plunged into the rest of the meat, the metallic tang of blood filling her nose until she wanted to retch. She took a few steps back and the dragon lifted his head, his eyes glinting in annoyed amusement.

"Can't stand the scent, huh?" he said, one eye blinking at her as he continued to eat.

"No, I can't." was her reply.

"You get used to it." Grumbled the beast, between mouthfuls. It took a few moments before she really registered what he had said.

He was new, caught 'wild', so he couldn't possibly know that the dragon boys got used to the scent. Sure, they probably did, but how was he to know they even cared about it? Dragons, according to fact, had never paid that much attention to humans.

"You're not just a dragon."

The words were out of her mouth before her mind was even made up, but it sounded right and the dragon lifted his head, eyes narrowed, mouth curling into a frown, or what resembled a frown.

"Shut-up." He snarled.

"You're not just a dragon." She said again, the almost human expression on his face assuring her at once that she was right. Dragons didn't speak, to humans at least, dragons couldn't tell the difference between a sedative and straw. Dragon wounds didn't heal overnight, dragons didn't have human-like intelligence, and dragons were not silver.

There was a moment where the golden eyes just stared at her, catching her gaze and holding it. She didn't look away; she stared back, pretending to be steady even as his jowls dropped, the remnants of his meal dripping from the long white fangs.

And then he lunged at her, again, and this time there wasn't a chain to hold him back.

* * *

A/N: I really must love nearly killing my characters, huh?


	4. Chapter 3: Discovery

A/N: Sorry for the wait, I've been busy, and thenI got a defective product from ebay so I have to sort it out. Oh well, hope you like, the next update shouldbe faster, I have that chapter nearly done anyways. Thanks for all of the reviews, -huggles all- Very much appreciated!

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Darkwolfgal:.**_

* * *

_**.:Chapter 3: Discovery:.**_

_He just glared at her, the new dragon girl, he had long forgotten her name, and had to admit she was pretty smart. If she hadn't figured out he was hungry he'd probably have torn the place apart, as soon as he finally broke this stupid chain._

_Now he glared at her, stomach fairly full, the soporific quality of contentment and his own weariness sinking into his bones, impacting his mind as well. He couldn't help but compare her with Kikyo. They had the same raven-black hair and brown eyes, their skin was pale as moonlight, and they had that same 'I-know-what-you're-not-telling-me-but-I-want-to-know-it-all' attitude._

_"Shut up." He snarled as the girl oh so annoying pointed out he wasn't just a dragon. She knew he wasn't just a dragon, it was obvious really, but the way she said it, that tell-me-everything look in her eyes, it was the same attitude Kikyo had used with him._

_And then, whether it was weariness or memory, Kikyo's image slid into his mind, her hair whipped around in the wind, her expensive silken gown silver, almost as white as her skin, flowing around her, and her eyes cold, dark, menacing._

_Somehow the two images blurred over, just as the girl spoke again, and suddenly it was Kikyo that was speaking, her voice slippery as a snake, sending chills up his dragon spine and hate coursed through him. Pure and unobstructed hate._

_And he lunged at her, all intent on making the kill, his chain flapping loosely behind him._

---------

In the first lunge he bowled her over with his snout, as easily as if she was a bag of straw, and before she could get to her feet he had hit her in the back, rolling her over in the straw, pinning her in the corner.

One forepaw flew out, the four talons pinning her down, two on either side of her head and the others beneath her arms. She grabbed at the silver scales, pushing at his talons, but he did not budge.

The silver snout slipped lower, jaws agape, canines wet with saliva.

"Stop it!" She cried, renewing her struggles, and he paused for just a moment, before snarling again, a thunderous snarl that shook her with its volume.

"Please stop!" She pleaded, but she was drowned out by his snarling.

She gasped, feeling the end near, but knowing she had to do something, and in the briefest pause as he snapped his head out, to break her neck, she cried out at the top of her lungs.

"Stop it,_Inuyasha_!"

She gasped, her heart beating wildly in her chest, her head spinning as if some unknown force had just been freed within it, or something. Where that last word had come from, she did not know, but it seemed to have worked.

He snapped to his senses with a jolt, jaws snapping shut in an instant, only a few inches from her neck.

His name, a word he had not heard for at least half a century, she had known his name, and that was enough to make him freeze, make him see that this was not Kikyo. This was that dragon girl, with the sweet scent, with the softer brown eyes the glowed like liquid.

Shepushed at his talons and he obliged, stepping back almost to the wall, tail lashing behind him as she got shakily to her feet, meeting his eyes as she supported herself against the wall.

"You're not Kikyo." He whispered.

She shook her head.

"My name is Kagome, I don't know any Kikyo." She said, glad her voice, if a little hoarse, did not stammer.

"Then how- how did you know my name?" The dragon rumbled.

"What?!" She blurted out, before regaining her senses. Inuyasha… this dragon had a name… He was Inuyasha… She had known his name…

"How did you know my name?" The dragon repeated, lifting his head ever so slightly so he could stare down at her, his tail lashing once to show his impatience.

"I don't know, it just came out!" she cried back, nearly shouting with her frustration, and none of that was doing her headache any good. She needed rest; even one of the drunks at the village bar would have known that.

Apparently the dragon, Inuyasha, was tired too, or just feeling the soporific effects of a full belly, because a moment later he settled down in his bedding with a light thump, the chain jangling loosely down his side. She reached for it but he was faster, snapping his neck around and snatching the chain with his jaws before lowering his muzzle to his forepaws and closing his eyes.

She sighed, wondering if it had been such a good idea to free him from his chain. For all she knew, he was planning to jump at her the moment her back was turned, he seemed to like doing that.

She'd worry in the morning, she was far too tired now, and her meals at the brothel had seemed ages ago. Her stomach was aching, but her head felt ten times worse.

Sometime between the point when her knees buckled and she fell asleep in the straw she decided she wasn't going bother getting into bed.

He opened his eyes slightly, in a lazy half-lidded look, seeing that his assumptions had been correct. Humans, so weak, this Kagome had just flopped down in his straw. Pah, he would have never been so weak, even on the new moon.

At the thought he lifted his snout from his paws, the chain he grasped jangling gently, and he looked to the ceiling overhead, as if he could see the sky from here, which he could not. The last time he had seen the moon it was a good three quarters empty.

He hoped she didn't plan on sleeping in his stall for the next week.

---------

There was a rapid knocking on the door.

She groaned, turning slightly, still half asleep. Part of her wondered what time it was, the rest of her was still unconscious.

The knocking came again, faster, louder.

She moaned again, rolling slightly in the straw. It had been late when she had fallen asleep, she didn't want to wake up.

Of course, the hard rap in the side she received a moment later gave her little choice in the matter of waking.

Her eyes popped open and she yelped, staring at a rush of silver scales. She realized this was one side of the dragon-Inuyasha, she must call him that-'s muzzle, with one gleaming golden eye glaring down at her.

"Get up, wench, or they'll barge in here and accuse you of witchery." He hissed, his words barely detachable from the feigned half-asleep hiss, which was just loud enough for whoever was knocking to hear and pause. She could have sworn there was a glint of satisfaction in the dragon's eyes.

"Nobody would believe you 'tamed' a dragon in less than a night." He continued, flipping her over with a bat of his snout before settling back into the straw, his snout on his forepaws, eyes nearly fully lidded.

She got to her feet, quickly shaking most of the straw from her, and creeping to the smaller flap in the door, which was obviously a peak hole, in the corner that had sheltered her from Inuyasha's first attack, and flipped it open.

"You're alive then!" A cheerful looking Rin exclaimed as she saw Kagome's face. "How did it go?"

"Alright, I just treated him like one of the temperamental bulls I saw a lot at the fairs." She replied with a slight shrug.

"Well, it's nearly time for the noon meal, you should feed your dragon." Rin replied with the same cheerfulness. "Meet you here when you're done, I'll take you to the dining room." She said, skipping off to some place or other. Kagome flipped the door shut.

"Yes wench, I'm quite hungry." Inuyasha growled from behind her, where he had lifted his head to tower above her. It must be some male status thing.

"I'm moving, I'm moving." She growled in response, unable to keep from the snapping at the dragon's imperious tone, and he twisted his mouth into a definite sneer. She left quickly, before she had to hear his response.

Outside she brushed the rest of the straw from her clothes and hair before getting her bearings. The feeding room was… that way, and with that she streaked down the hall to the cavernous room, not checking the chart at all as she went around, grabbing beef and pork from the smaller table.

She knew what it would say, add 'herb 3' or Inuyasha's favorite sedative. He wouldn't eat it, and she didn't want to pull a 'what-happened-yesterday' again.

She wheeled the still light barrow back towards Inuyasha's stall without mishap, shoving the door open and wheeling the barrow in. She hadn't even started to close the door when Inuyasha snatched at the barrow, dragging it towards him and slurping up the meal without the smallest sign of etiquette. She grimaced and he grinned with dragonish glee.

"Hurry up, I don't want to miss my meal." She said, hearing her stomach rumble.

The dragon lifted his head, meeting her gaze, and seemed to ponder it for a moment, and then he dropped back to eating, at a slightly faster pace.

In moments he was done, licking the stuff off the barrow walls and shoving it towards her with a leisurely thrust of a forepaw.

She saw him curl up again as she left the stall and wheeled the barrow down the hall at top speed. It was fun, quite fun, until the barrow caught in a rut, and she went tumbling.

With a gasp of pain she got to her feet, staring down at her left leg. A jagged gash ran from knee to ankle, and by god it hurt, but she didn't have time to take care of it now. She ripped off part of her shift and wrapped it around her leg, hoping it would keep the blood off the ground.

Limping, she got the barrow back to the feeding rooms and, tucking her kimono carefully over her leg, managed to hide her limping gait back to Inuyasha's stall where Rin was waiting for her.

The younger girl didn't notice and led her quickly down a corridor and into a room where porridge and hot rolls were being served. Kagome's hunger took over at once and she dove into her meal, scraping the bowl clean and getting an extra roll afterwards. Rin, laughing, ate a much smaller portion.

"All dragons receive a noon grooming, after they've been lounging for a while after their meal, but not too long so they're active again." Rin said as the two girls finished. "The grooming supplies are in one of the closets in the stalls, I'd show you but I have to get back to Mayrei." And she skipped out of the room, leaving Kagome to go her own way to Inuyasha's stall.

She found the supplies, a basket of brushes and cloths with a large jar of oil, and turned to Inuyasha, who was wallowing in the back of the stall where he was up to his shoulders in heated sand. He was obviously enjoying his freedom, though he still had the chain grasped tightly in his jaws.

"Okay, how am I supposed to do this?" She asked and Inuyasha lifted his head from the surface of the sand, sand grains sliding down his scales, and shook it.

"You could ask the girl." He grunted, sand grains flying. "Or you could let me groom myself."

At her double take he continued.

"You think we dragons can't groom ourselves?" A snort after this, "How do you think we look so fearful in the wild? Pah, those dorks out there are the laziest pigs I've ever known, though I can't blame about half of them seeing as they aren't-" His jaws snapped shut, fangs clacking, and she got the impression he'd said too much.

"Seeing as they aren't what?" She pressed eagerly, curiosity getting the better of her.

He growled, eyes narrowing, as if he was pondering what to say. He snorted, sending a breath of extremely hot air, that didn't smell bad, despite what he was eating, wafted towards her and he took a deep breath-

And his eyes seemed to almost bulge, if dragon eyes could do that, and he sniffed again, more delicately.

"Blood, you are-were bleeding." He said, his neck arching and surveying her from the side.

He was right, of course, she had completely forgotten about her wound.

She sat down at once, pulling up her kimono and unraveling the slightly red stained cloth from her gash, only to find it a faint white line, and the even stranger thing about it.

It was glowing!

She yelped, staring at what had been a bleeding wound hardly a half candlemark ago, and yelped again as Inuyasha's head appeared hardly a few inches from her leg. He was looking at it with both eyes, staring almost straight down his snout, and she collected herself.

"It's glowing." She managed to choke out, and his head whipped up, staring at her.

"I'd say you were going crazy, but you already are." He rumbled.

"I swear it's _glowing_!" She protested, "What's wrong with your eyes?"

He frowned at that, before turning his gaze back to her wound, and he flinched slightly before glaring at her leg, as if it would solve everything. He lowered his muzzle, touching the soft skin between his nostrils to her leg, and this time he jerked back, shaking his head before turning back to her, again.

"The jewel…" He murmured, lost in memory, his voice faraway. "The power… but no… too weak…. It can't be the jewel… the jewel's stronger… unless… unless it was broken."

She blinked at him, wondering what he was mumbling about, but jolted at the mention of a breakage.

"Broken, are you talking about the jewel of four souls?" She asked.

He was as surprised as she by her words and flinched, ears pinning, but nodding.

"The jewel… I broke the jewel."

He snapped to attention then, scales nearly standing on end.

"Don't lie, wench, the jewel is unbreakable!" He roared, eyes vivid with outrage and disbelief.

"I don't care what you say, I broke it! It fell out of my hands and it shattered, no buts about it! Why are you talking about the jewel anyways?" She said, huffed at his reaction, snapping more out of annoyance than fear, and it must have shook him back to reality.

"Shards… if you've shattered it… you've got jewel shards in your leg." He said, touching her leg again as if to be sure and flinching back again.

"What?!" She yelped yet again, jerking her leg back before glancing at it again. It felt almost alive, as if something was leaping like a deer, or soaring like a dragon, right in the direction of her leg, and if she looked at it in the right direction the light came from a certain direction. Three diamond shaped objects to be exact, each slightly different from the others.

"One… two… three." She counted slowly, and he glared at her again.

"You can see them, you can see the shards." He accused, and she nodded, speechless, but thankfully he didn't do any more talking.

Instead he lidded his eyes, thinking hard, his scaly brows furrowing slightly in a human-like expression and she was reminded again that he could not be simply a dragon. Finally he spoke again.

"Help me." He said, half pleading, and she stared at him, taken aback. "Help me find the other shards." He was staring at her, meeting her eyes with amber irises that gleamed with years of sorrow.

"Why?" She said, saying the only word she could on such an occasion and he turned his dragonish head away.

"I can't tell you… you have to trust me." He said, and she could hear the sorrow in his voice as he did so, as if he knew too well what he was saying, and how she would respond.

"I can't trust you, not if you can't trust me." She said, and he sighed sadly, lowering his head back into the sand wallow.

"I can't trust you… I could never trust you… You're just too much like…" And he left off there, his voice drowning away into some pit of sadness, his eyes becoming half lidded and faraway, entrapped in some memory.

"Kikyo." She said for him, though he didn't seem to hear, and she got slowly to her feet and found the door to her new quarters, taking one look back at the sorrowful pile of silver scales that lay still in the middle of the sand.


	5. Chapter 4: A Bargain Struck

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Darkwolfgal:.**_

* * *

_**.:Chapter 4: A Bargain Struck:.**_

"Naraku." Hissed the voice, icy cold with a seething rage.

The lord smiled, his crimson eyes, half-lidded, opening fully as he turned to face Kagura, his white baboon pelt flowing over his naked shoulders.

"I trust you found someone, Kagura, I do not tolerate failure." He murmured softly, but his chill words carried to the woman who knelt at the base of raised, cushioned dais that was his bed.

"I have not found anyone, because there was no one to find! They flee, they know what I want, and Kanna shows nothing." Kagura hissed. "That silver dragon is more trouble than he is worth!"

His eyes narrowed and he couldn't help summoning the black orb into his hands, the black orb that held the woman's heart.

"Silence, it is I who make the decisions here." He growled, tapping the black crackling ball. Kagura winced and he sneered before allowing the ball to disappear.

"Kanna." He said clearly, and the smaller girl emerged from the shadows, though if she had been there all this time they would never know.

"Who can tame this silver dragon? Show us." He ordered and the girl shifted the mirror she held in her hands, her lifeless eyes turning to its glimmering surface.

The mirror glowed slightly, whirling before settling on the image of a girl, fuzzed at the edges, but clear all the same. It was that same girl; the one he had been forced to recall after none of his other dragon boys could get near the beast.

"Who else." He snapped. It was an order not a question.

Kanna stared at her mirror, and it went blank.

"Show me." Naraku snapped again.

"The mirror has nothing more to show." Kanna said, her voice devoid of emotion, as always.

Kagura narrowed her eyes and he had to admit, she had been right, but he didn't like it. Instead he was forced to cover up his unknowing.

"Very well than, the girl will have to break the dragon. She will handle it and train it, and I don't care if she gets tossed the moment he decides to fly." Naraku ordered before lying back in his cushions, closing his eyes in obvious dismissal.

Kagura got to her feet to leave, Kanna disappearing within the shadows, when Naraku spoke again.

"Make sure I don't have any appointments tonight, I have a project to oversee."

---------

She awoke all at once, as she had always done on the streets, and groaned as the light fell into her eyes, squinting them shut at once.

Why was it so bright? The streets weren't this bright… she slept in the shadows… if she was in the open, the riders, the Shikon no Tama…

And then it came back to her, Inuyasha, the lord Naraku, and her jobs now, and her bed, she was in a bed.

Speaking of Inuyasha, she needed to get his morning meal. Strange how something so humanoid had to be fed, and fed by her. Well, she had seen him hungry before; she didn't want to repeat that experience again.

With a yawn she changed into the fresh kimono she found in the drawers, pulled on some sandals, and pulled open the sliding door to enter Inuyasha's stall.

"Took you long enough." He snapped, shifting in the sand, the loose chains jangling as he did so.

"Well I don't see you going all feral on me." She yawned in reply, heading for the door.

"That's because I'm only hungry, not _starved_." He growled in reply, amber eyes rolling in an exact imitation of human exasperation. She exited the stall.

- - -

"Kagome! Kagome!" A bubbly voice called and she turned, just exiting Inuyasha's stall. She shut the door, silencing Inuyasha's rude eating habits, and turned to an excited Rin who had raced down the hall.

"Rin, calm down, don't we have to worry about the dragons?" She asked as the smaller girl, dressed in a cheerful orange-splotched kimono, pulled to a halt.

"Kagome, you won't believe it!" Rin said, only slightly softer and with no less enthusiasm. "Lord Naraku made you the Silver's trainer!"

Kagome stared at her and from her blank face Rin burst into explanation while dragging her towards the dining room.

"Dragonboys and dragongirls are just like stable hands for the horses. Above the dragonboys and dragongirls are the handlers, who are in charge of most of the dragon's exercises and meals. Above them are the trainers, who have authority over the handlers, and who train the dragons." She said as they stood in line for porridge.

"Trainers also give their dragon's names, since they need to be called something-Oh Kagome I can't believe you impressed Lord Naraku so much he made you a trainer!" She bubbled, grabbing Kagome and sitting down at an unoccupied table.

"But _Rin_!" Kagome interjected as soon as the girl slowed down. "I don't know _anything _about training dragons, I haven't even been able to get chickens to hop off their eggs! How could Lord Naraku want _me_?"

"You survived the Silver." Rin pointed out, gulping down a huge spoonful of porridge.

"That was dumb luck." Kagome replied, moving the wooden spoon slowly through the porridge, her appetite lost.

"Couldn't have been, otherwise the others would have been able to survive too." Rin pressed.

"But what's so special about me?" She insisted and Rin shrugged.

"I dunno, but apparently Lord Naraku sees something in you. I'll tell you what the trainers do though." Rin said, her tone ending the current topic.

When both had finished eating Rin began to explain.

- - -

"What are _you_ doing back here?" Inuyasha growled, raising his silver head from the sand. "You should be doing the chores or something, can't adragon have any peace around here?"

"I supposed to be your trainer now, so I can't let you get lazy." Kagome replied and Inuyasha growled, rumbling deep in his chest for several minutes at least.

That meant Naraku still wanted to use him, Naraku wasn't giving up, and this girl was just helping the piece of filth. Sure it meant Naraku thought he was a dragon, but how was he ever going to escape _now_? He had been hoping the fleabag would give up and leave him to rot in some far off place, underestimating his draconic strength, but apparently not.

"What are _you_ so unhappy about?" Kagome asked, or perhaps it was more of a demand.

He snapped at her, jaws clacking together hardly a yard from her hair. She didn't even flinch and he snarled. He'd liked her better when she could be frightened so easily, but now it seemed she had realized he wasn't about to kill her.

"None of your business." He snapped, turning around in the sand, his head resting on the straw outside the wallow.

She was silent for a long while and he thought she'd finally left him for his peace when she spoke yet again, but this time it wasn't with that oh-so-annoying defiant voice.

"I want to get out of here too, you know." She said, her tone neutral.

He whirled back around to face her, his eyes narrowing. How had she guessed?

"Face it, you could have someone worse than me." She continued, in the same tone.

"What are you suggesting?" He snapped.

"A bargain. You cooperate and I help you get out."

He laughed at that, his tail flailing behind him.

"Like I could use _your_ help, the second you get me out of this stall I'll be gone!"

"And I'll go straight to Lord Naraku and tell him all about how you can talk and that you kept talking about Kikyo." She said, crossing her arms and screwing her face in what she hoped was an all-knowing smirk. She didn't think he would care, she was pulling on aimless strings, but apparently she had struck gold.

"You wouldn't dare!" He roared, getting to his feet, snapping at her yet again.

"I've got a letter with all of that information waiting in my room, addressed to Lord Naraku. If you kill me they'll find it, and then you'll still be stuck here when they come for you." She lied easily, hiding her fear that she was wrong, but she was right yet again.

He froze, glaring at her, and she couldn't help but smirk.

"I'm not asking you to trust me." She pointed out.

"As if I have a choice in the matter." He rumbled in reply, but he was settling down again.

"So do we have a deal?" She pressed, knowing the answer.

He glared at her.

---------

The Lord growled, his eyes narrowing in anger. He had come so close, so close. He had been so sure he had gotten the right spell, but all he had here was an empty husk.

He stood over the pit of flaming coals, staring down at the beautiful, and naked, figure that lay above them. Pity though, for it was only a figure, a soulless piece of junk, however finely he had made it.

Something had gone wrong in the creation; something had been lacking, or had been too much of. Something had gone wrong, and he didn't know what.

The body of clay and graveyard soil was empty, devoid of a spirit, devoid of a soul. It wasn't human, it would live off the souls of others, but to keep the souls from taking over he had contained them, and now he had this, this empty husk that lived yet did not. It was lacking something to give it life, however well it lived off souls.

His eyes widened in realization. It was missing a soul of its own! It was missing its soul!

And then his eyes narrowed again in frustration. That was stupid, the soul would have been infused in the spell. It was there in the script, the creature would live, and it would have its soul.

What had gone wrong? He had done everything to the letter, he had had exact amounts of the clay and soil, the life giving herbs ,and he had plenty of power! Why did the thing not have a soul?

Unless, of course, the soul required was not readily available.

He had never believed much in reincarnation, but the theory was sound, he had seen it proven in his books. So the soul had manifested another vessel, though removal would be simple enough. Of course, he needed to find the vessel.

"Not to worry, I'll bring you back yet, Kikyo."


	6. Chapter 5: Sacred Power

**A/N:** I am very very very very very -you get the point- very sorry for my lack of updates. I have been very busy lately, but I promise I will update once a week as often as possible now, or until everyone reviews.

**For all fans of Forgotten Freedom:** I promise I will either write a sequel, that was the original plan, or end it off better but for now I have to leave it as it is. My muses are forcing me to write Curse of Dragons, and I have yet another idea that I believe is much better than my first fanfiction. Ido not think I will try to juggle two stories at a time until I at leastwrite a draft of the ending for Curse of Dragons. Sorry if I have left you in the dark lately, but I really need to rethink my original plans for Forgotten Freedom.

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Maiden of the Seven Stars:.**_

_**.:Chapter 5: Sacred Power:.**_

* * *

She held her breath as she stepped through the door, yanking on Inuyasha's chain. It jangled loudly and the slow huff and torpid movements of the silver dragon followed.

"Remember, you're drugged… heavily." She whispered and his glazed eyes narrowed in a glare. He snorted, knowingly, but continued in his lumbering, and pathetically slow, pace, his hung head swinging slightly with each step, his entire weight shifting from side to side before he stepped again.

She could hear the dragonboys gasped as she passed them, Inuyasha, padding drunkenly behind. Some narrowed their eyes, one looked as if it were about to say something but Inuyasha took that exact moment to stumble, his head flying dangerously close to the dragonboy's head. They were quiet after that.

"How did you manage it?" Rin whispered as she led an only slightly sedated Mayrei. Her dragon was a blue-black, fading into a blue at the feet and belly.

"I let him gorge… a lot." Kagome whispered. "I got lucky."

Rin shook her head. "You have a way with dragons, Kagome, don't deny it." She paused as Mayrei glanced towards another door where a dragonhead peered over the door. "Mayrei, FOLLOW!" she cried, giving a yank on the chain. The dragon obliged.

"She's ready to go into heat, it's her first time." Rin said. "They'll breed her, I'm taking her to spoil her in the private wallows now. You won't be seeing me for a few days, probably longer. The training compound is at the end, past the feeding room. Bye Kagome!"

She took a guarded door to the right, dragging Mayrei with her, and Kagome barely had time to wave.

"What are we going to be doing?" Inuyasha hissed, slowly, as if drowsily, as they approached the guarded entrance to the training compound.

"I'm going to teach him the basic commands, I think, and maybe let him fly after lunch." She replied, but to the guards. They nodded.

"There's a private feed room over on the left, through the arch-" He was forced to pause as Shippo ran up to the four of them.

"Message, from Lord Naraku." He chirped, waving happily at Kagome before taking off again.

The guards unrolled the scroll Shippo had dropped before turning to her again.

"You're to fly him, chained of course, but the Lord Naraku wants you to fly him." The guard said, trying to hide his disbelief.

"What about the basic commands?" She asked, her stomach lurching at the word fly.

"Apparently the Lord Naraku does not care for basic commands, the next battle is-" But his partner cut him off before he could finish.

"Battle?" She asked but they shooed her in.

"To the right, third arch." One of them said as he clapped Inuyasha's shoulder to get him moving forwards. The dragon didn't move. He had stood stock-still, his ears lifted slightly, his eyes losing their false glaze.

"I thought he was drugged." One of the guards accused.

"He is!" She protested. "Move your silver rump!" She hissed to Inuyasha, giving a savage yank. He eyed her reproachfully but moved forwards, letting the door shut behind them.

"What was that for?" She hissed again as she began to 'lead' him to the right.

He didn't say anything and she turned, only to see one troubled amber eye as his head drew level with her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned now.

"Nothing you would need to know." He rumbled, but his eyes were still troubled.

"Tell me!" She pleaded, but he stiffened, his eyes narrowing.

"And let you add another little detail to that letter awaiting Naraku in your quarters? I don't think so." He growled and padded forwards, nearly yanking the chain out of her hands.

"But I-" She protested as she was dragged forwards but her mouth slammed shut as his silver head whirled to face her, his lips drawn back revealing long savage fangs, but what shocked her was the faint, yet true, glimmer of pain in his glaring amber eyes.

"But you what? You'd never tell? Pah, you females are all the same. Lying bitches, all of you." He hissed angrily, breaking eye contact but not before she was sure she had hurt him somehow.

But he was telling the truth; she had manipulated him, in a slightly vague way. Why did it affect him like this though? Why was there hurt in his eyes?

"Inuyasha-" She started before realizing a figure was approaching them.

"So that's his name, huh?" He asked as he took the chain from her.

"Yeah, he looked more like a dog than the others…" She rambled as the man deftly hooked a far longer chain to Inuyasha' collar.

"For when he flies." He said simply, dragging the 'drugged' Inuyasha across the smooth plains and hooking the chain to a moving hook in the ground.

"Get his wings free." He commanded, seeing she didn't know what to do, and then he began measuring Inuyasha's chest.

She tugged the chain off of Inuyasha's right wing, resulting in a beat that nearly knocked her off her feet.

"Temperamental, isn't he?" The man asked, still measuring.

"Yeah." She said, giving Inuyasha a sharp jab behind his foreleg before pulling the chain off, only to find the man was feeling the spot on his back where his neck joined his body.

"I'll need a snug saddle for him, if we want you back alive." He said simply as he stood back from Inuyasha's twitching wings and strode into a separate room.

"No funny stunts." She said as soon as the man was out of earshot.

He snorted.

"I'm serious!" She said. She did not want to be plummeting off of his draconic back from high off the ground.

"As if I have a choice." He growled tightly in return, but the man returned before she could reply.

"Standard issue, black with red, this should fit." He said, holding the saddle out to her. It was mainly straps and a large padded cushion, though when she felt it it was really like a large pad, held in a rounded shape by rock hard leather, though it's bottom was soft and flexible, able to shape to a dragon's back and withers. Attached to the pad was a large leather loop, which she pulled over Inuyasha's head and tightened a little at the large red spider buckle in the center. Another strap ran to the center buckle and she pulled it down between Inuyasha's forelegs, at the man's command, and hooked two more straps from sides of the saddle to another spider clasp, though it was smaller than the one on his chest.

She fastened the secondary straps, which would hold the saddle on enough so if another strap broke the rider could land safely, and then stepped back dumbly as the man double-checked her work. He then handed her a bridal of the same fashion and she 'coaxed' Inuyasha's mouth open, ignoring his fangs, and inserted the bridal, looping the two long reins back through a loop in the saddle. Again her work was doubled checked and he was satisfied and motioned her forwards, slapping Inuyasha on the near shoulder while he did so.

Inuyasha grunted but didn't move and the man slapped again. Puzzled by the dragon's little reaction he turned back to Kagome.

"Basic commands?"

"We never covered that, Lord Naraku's orders were for us to fly." She replied, and at the look of horror that crossed the man's face she was sure this was a very bad idea, but they both knew better than to contradict their lord.

"Wait here." He said and trotted off, returning with two other pads, smaller than the main saddle, and hung them in what remained of the depression where his neck joined his back, buckling them firmly to the shoulder straps of his saddle.

"Get up." He said and she obeyed, scrambling up an unhelpful Inuyasha until she sat in the saddle.

He handed her a heavy robe, which she tied around herself as tightly as she could, and he showed her how to strap her legs down to the pads, strapping her left leg in for her. She did the right and strapped herself down at the waist, now thoroughly nervous.

"Kiyaaaaaaaaaaah!" The man shouted as soon as she was in place, screaming at the top of his voice while racing back, coming back with a long pole, which he used to prod at Inuyasha's rump.

At once Inuyasha snapped at him, still in 'drugged' mode, and when the prodding didn't stop he spread his wings and beat.

Dust flew into the air, and her hair went whipping out of the tie she had held it in. Her robe was too heavy and warm for whipping, but it still shifted uncomfortably as Inuyasha tensed and flung himself into the air with his powerful hind legs, turning her stomach upside down in the process.

The silver dragon rose with each down beat of his wings, and fell as he pulled his wings back to pump them again, continuously upsetting her stomach. She dropped the half-snatched reins, instead wrapping her arms around Inuyasha's neck and trying to keep from screaming.

Finally she felt the chain yank taunt and Inuyasha wheeled into a glide across the top of the pen, the hooked chain moving with him. With a rumble of glee to be back in the air he cocked his head slightly, eyeing her for a moment, and laughed cruelly.

"How's it feel to be helpless?" He growled, suddenly braking with his wings and sending them plunging downwards.

She screamed in fright and he laughed again, stretching out his wings and flying up again.

"Don't do that again!" She yelped, shivering and rubbing her waist where the straps had dug in.

"What's wrong with a little fun?" He taunted, his shoulders tensing as he prepared to repeat his stunt.

"Stop, or you're not getting dinner!" She cried in return, "Or at least, nothing except porridge!"

He resumed his glide with a soft snarl, wheeling around in a sharp turn before flying around in a slowly descending spiral.

Now that his flight was rather smooth she grabbed the reins, which were really long leather ropes, and tugged to the left as if trying to get her mount to move that way.

"Act like I'm teaching you." She called but got no response.

She tugged again with a flourish, though her pressure was still gentle, and this time Inuyasha' head followed her gentle pulling, his entire body turning with another stomach hurling jerk before her soared again.

The ground had never looked so welcoming.

-

"No, I cannot wield a weapon!" She protested, stepping back, but the crimson-eyed advisor, Kagura, grabbed her wrist with a pincer like grip.

"Lord Naraku's orders." Kagura snapped, dragging her down the hallway towards the archery range. "You will learn the bow today, and master it, or at least be sufficient with it, within the moon."

The advisor flashed a blood red spider badge of office at the guards and shoved her into them, where they promptly took her wrists.

"Get her to the archery master, I've no use of her." Kagura snapped again and hurried down the hall.

"I can walk on my own, thank you." She grumbled as soon as the advisor left and the guards set her on her feet.

"Right this way, miss." One of the guards grunted and strode down the hall, another following behind them. She wondered how many guards they had in this place if they could spare two as an escort for a lowly peasant girl. Or perhaps it was because she was the only one who could control Inuyasha.

"Through the arch, miss, to the first courtyard on the right." The guard in front of her said, taking a stand at one side of the archway, the other guard following suit. With a sigh of resignation she strode through the archway, and turned into another courtyard.

There was no one there.

"Hello?" She asked, quickly scanning the archery range and the array of bows and quivers of arrows.

"Oh, hiya!" Chirped an all too familiar voice. She peered down and, to her surprise; a red-haired kistune came trotting up to her, a quiver of arrows in his hands.

"Shippo? You're the archery master?" She asked, staring at him in her disbelief.

"Well, I'm actually the assistant, but the master was tossed from dragon back, so I'm taking care of the training for now." He chirped. "Now, for the bow and arrow."

For the next few hours she learned the use of the bow and arrow. Shippo took her over the proper stance, the way to aim, and then forced her to practice, and practice, and practice. Unfortunately, she was incapable of landing the arrow anywhere other than the piles of straw at their feet, or occasionally slightly down the range.

Finally Shippo called a halt, needing to write a report to the Lord Naraku about her progress.

"Keep practicing, Kagome, until the I get back. I won't be long." He chirped, a little wearily, before bolting off again.

"Yeah, he'll only have about four words down in his report. 'She's an utter failure'." She groaned as he left, but picked up her bow anyways.

She set her feet and knocked an arrow from the quiver on the ground, pulling it back as far as she could and lifting the weapon, sighting along the shaft until the point was aimed for the bull's-eye. She focused on the point of the weapon and the line of the bow, concentrating as hard as she could on the arrow, picturing a line for the shot from the arrow to the target behind her eyelids.

"You will make this work." She whispered fiercely and opened her eyes and shot.

She gasped as the arrow flew from her bow, fairly true to the course she had set for it, and surrounded with an aura of pink-violet.

The arrow clattered to the ground only a few meters from the target, the aura dissolved like rain around the stone tip, and she finally drew breath again.

"Wow, nice shot!" Shippo called appreciatively, seeing where the arrow had fallen.

"Did you see?" She began to ask but he nodded hurriedly, a scroll tucked under an arm.

"I have to go deliver this, so I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He said happily turning to go, but she stopped him.

"Wait, could I take back a bow and arrow? So I could practice? My dragon will be drugged after dinner, so the arrow won't disturb him." She pleaded and Shippo nodded.

"Just be careful." He said and scurried off, leaving her to drop off her bow and arrow into Inuyasha's stall then ran for the dining hall.

-

"So what do you think?" She asked, holding the arrow, the same arrow she had shot previously, in her hand.

"I think something's screwed with your idiot mind." Inuyasha snapped from where he lounged in the straw across from her, his eyes half lidded, his dinner stretching the sides of his belly.

"I swear, it was glowing!" She snapped, and the dragon huffed, sending her hair flapping back behind her.

"Alright, prove it, do it again." He growled, his eyes opening just slightly to watch her fail.

She growled, a good imitation of Inuyasha', and grabbed the arrow in both hands. She closed her eyes and focused on the point of the arrow. She willed it to glow like it had before and waited.

Suddenly Inuyasha snarled and her eyes popped open, just in time to see the arrow glowing with the same pink-violet light.

"I told you!" She crowed triumphantly, leaping to her feet but falling silent at Inuyasha's distressed hiss.

"Sit down, fool, I know what this is." He snarled, and she sat, not liking the dark look in his eyes.

"This is power, power in it's purest form, known as sacred power." He hissed when she was settled. "You have power, from holding the jewel so long with you, or perhaps it's just you. It doesn't matter, you have a well of power in you, I've seen it since the first time I laid eyes on you."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She cried.

"Why should I have cared?" He snarled in response, his scales bristling in that curious draconic fashion.

"Anyways, you've tapped into it now, and managed to draw it out in a pure, untainted way. The power you hold in that arrow will decimate anything impure it comes in contact with." He growled, and she noticed he was rising and backing away slightly.

"What's wrong, afraid?" She jeered, unable to resist, and concentrating again, bringing the arrow back to glowing life and waving it at him. He snarled.

"Be careful, wench!" He hissed again, "Put that out!"

"Why?" She challenged, but obliged removing her wall of concentration from the arrow.

"Sacred power, as I said, decimates impurities. They don't call it purifying power for nothing, but impurity also acts as a conduit for it. You know how fire spreads? The same with sacred power, if it had enough impurities to accent it."

"What's so bad about straw?" She couldn't help but asking.

"It's not the straw, fool. You've been letting me groom myself, therefore all of the scales I shed a buried in this stall. I'm an impure creation- creature. If that power touches my scales they'll spread through this stall, lighting on the wood since it's been chopped down, and burn the whole place apart. You and maybe a few others may survive, since you're pure, but everything else will go up in chaos." Inuyasha snarled, and then dragon-frowned at the expression on her face.

It was mischievous, and dark, and clever. It reminded him far too much of Kikyo.

"Inuyasha, I've got an idea on how we can get out of here. Just trust me!" She blurted gleefully. "We should be able to leave, as soon as I can get this bow under control."

"What's your idea?" He growled, but she smiled mischievously.

"I'm not telling, it might not work yet and I don't want to get your hopes up." She said, quickly sliding into her room before he could finish his roar.

"What!"

-

"Kagura." The icy voice snapped, and the crimson-eyed advisor stepped up to the dais and bowed low before her Lord and Master.

"Have you found her?" Naraku demanded.

"It's harder than it-" Kagura began but Naraku waved her silent.

"I told you, I would not accept failure!" He growled and she flinched.

"My spell is ready, it will suck the proper girl's soul right out of her and stuff it in the prepared vessel, but I need to know where that girl is! Where is she?" He demanded again.

"I don't know!" Kagura cried in return, getting to her feet. "I honestly don't know why I have to search like this, you haven't even giving me a single clue, one-who-knows-all!" She screamed in frustration, but Naraku's eyebrows furrowed. The thing was, he didn't even know where to begin, of course Kagura, a part of him, wouldn't either.

"Well then, Kagura, look for a Kikyo."

* * *

**A/N:** Again, I'm very very sorry, give me a few reviews (10) and I will post the next chapter. If you're all quick I'll post it before midnight eastern time.


	7. Chapter 6: Of Escape and Loss

**A/N**: Okay, due to my lack of email checking this chapter has been posted after 11 reviews. However, it has been uploaded in two days! Pity though, 48 people have me on author alert.Must be the forgotten freedom crew shrug.

**Random Review Questions (Where I'll answer questions without having to reply to all the reveiews)**

Yes, I've read Eragon by Christopher Paulini as well as Dragon Riders of Pern(Anne McCaffrey), Dragon's Blood, Heart's Blood, A sending of Dragons (Forgotten Author), Joust, and Alta (By Mercedes Lackey. Dragon fans, read them all!

Um... Puppetcat, I can't understand your review very well, I'm not too good at spanish, but thanks for reviewing anyways!

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Maiden of the Seven Stars:.**_

_**.:Chapter 6: **__**Of Escape and Loss:.**_

* * *

"Good shot, Kagome, I think you've got it!" Shippo cried happily from behind he as she loosed another arrow. It streaked down the range, hitting one of the outer rings of the target with a satisfying thunk.

"I did it, Shippo, I did it!" She cried as well, grabbing the Kitsune's hands and dancing happily. She had been counting on the fact that she might master the bow, and now she had done it. It felt very good to be ready to take her plan into action; she was itching for escape.

Shippo ran off to file her report and she drew her arrow again, but this time she shifted her aim to a large block of straw down the range. She focused along the arrow's shaft, willing the arrow's tip to fly true, and released.

As expected, a bright pink-violet flare of sacred power appeared around the arrow, carving a streak through the air as the arrow flew true, striking the straw with a whoosh.

"Well, you were close." Shippo chirped as he saw where her arrow had imbedded itself. "I think you're doing good enough, I'm asking that you can practice shooting from dragon back, the Silver's flight exercises have been going well, I'm told. You should be fine." He said before waving and dashing off.

She headed for dinner, her stomach rumbling, her heart leaping in delight. She couldn't believe her luck and thanked the gods that Shippo had thought she was ready.

Rin was already at their table by the time she sat down, her meal of rice and a lump of meat and veggies still steaming while the other girl's was nearly gone.

"I heard you're going to try shooting arrows from Inuyasha's back!" Rin said brightly, and she nodded, her mouth full.

"Oh that's great news, I'll make sure to watch!" Rin continued, but Kagome stopped chewing, her appetite gone.

"Oh no, you don't have too, Rin. I'm sure Mayrei will take up all your time now that she gone into heat." She said quickly, trying her best to dissuade the girl, but Rin would not be dissuaded.

"Don't worry, I'll keep myself out of your clumsy range, and Mayrei has been taken off my hands for the moment, so I'll be free." The other girl bubbled. "I wouldn't miss this for the world!"

"But Rin, surely they won't let you, you might agitate Inuyasha!" Kagome protested and Rin frowned.

"Kagome, I think I'm hearing this wrong, but you're trying to keep me from going, aren't you?" The girl accused.

"It's not what you think!" She stammered, quickly.

"Kagome, is there something you aren't telling me?" Rin asked again, hurt.

"No, I've told you everything… I'm just really nervous—I'll be riding without guide reins!" She said, faking confession, but Rin's expression immediately lit up.

"Oh that's easy, I've even done it once when Mayrei's handler sprained a wrist! Guide with you legs, you've worked with knee commands right?" The girl bubbled.

Kagome gulped, in relief, and dove into the conversation.

"No, I've been riding with the restraining straps, he won't respond!" She moaned, realizing she wasn't going to be using them and factoring that in for the first time, and Rin quickly began to reassure her.

Half and hour later, her belly full and her mind somewhat relieved, Kagome got up to get Inuyasha his own dinner, which she had delayed. Thank god he wasn't a normal dragon, else he'd devour her the moment she walked back through that door.

She turned down the hall to the feeding room, waving goodnight to Rin.

"Meet you at the flight pen!" The girl called, racing off before Kagome could respond.

"No…." She moaned, "Don't let her go." She prayed, heading for the feeding room.

-

"Dinnertime, hold your horses." She called as she pulled open the door, shoved in the barrow, and pulled the stall door closed behind her.

Inuyasha had moved the barrow out of her way and she strode easily across the stall to practice with the bow and arrow, only to be stopped by a clash of fangs, hardly an arm's breadth from her head.

"Hey, watch it!" She snapped, only to be blown back by a blast of air from beating silver wings. She staggered and something whipped across her legs below her knees, nearly making them numb, and she spun her arms like a pinwheel for balance.

"Hey, cut that—Ahhhhhhhh!" She yelled as his tail flicked against the back of her ankles, successfully tripping her.

A moment later Inuyasha's snout was a hands breadth from her neck.

"Alright, I'm tired of this!" He rumbled, annoyed. "For the past three days you've been waltzing around, like you know everything! First of all, I hate it" He hissed, shaking his silver muzzle angrily, his scales bristling.

"Second, tell me exactly what it is you're planning, or I swear I'll throw you off my back!" He snarled, his lips rising and revealing his fangs, yet again.

She gasped, annoyed, but knowing she had been holding the knowledge over him all this time. She was surprised he had given her so long before pouncing on her like this.

"Alright, I'll tell, but let me up." She admitted but he growled.

"You'll stay right where you are!" He hissed and snapped, too close to her head for comfort.

"Alright!" She snapped, nearly growling herself, and he sorely wished she was still trembling in fear of him.

"Here's the plan, you probably won't like it." She said.

She told him, and he had to admit it was a good plan—

And he hated it.

-

"I swear, girl, this plan is stupid!" He hissed as they trudged down the hall. He had missed lunch, since the Lord Naraku, the piece of filth, had wanted him semi-aware in the flight, and without a full stomach to slow him down. Apparently the lord wanted a performance, he'd give him a grand show.

"We leave too much behind, and if they ever catch us we're chopped liver!" He hissed again, snapping at some invisible nuisance and Kagome sighed.

"Have any better ideas?" She tried to snap, but it came out as a disgruntled growl. She was nervous, he should be able to at least pick that up.

"I'm venting, and this plan is stupid." He growled and she gave him a quick kick in the foreleg.

"Stop hissing so much, they'll get suspicious." She whispered, trying to get him to shut up. The dragon didn't take the hint.

"Pah, you don't think it'll work either!" He rumbled in triumph and she yanked at the chain she held, stepping in front of him and glaring into his amber eyes.

"Listen, this plan may be stupid but we _will _destroy this compound and we _will_ get out of here!" She snapped, and gave the dragon a conk on his silver nose, which probably hurt her more than him, but it got him to shut up.

She turned and went down the corridor the flight pen, Inuyasha, miffed, following like a good semi-drugged dragon.

Neither saw the pair of green eyes, glistening with tears, at about knee height turn and scamper off down the hall.

-

"Kagome, Kagome!" cried a voice and she turned from the harnessed Inuyasha to see Rin come running up to give her a hug.

"I'm so excited for you!" Rin chirped, squeezing her tight, and Kagome mimicked her enthusiasm though she knew this would be the last time they would see each other.

"I'm really nervous, what if I hit something important? Or bust a hole in the roof!" She cried and Rin stifled her giggles.

"You won't, now mount up!" The younger girl said, giving her hand a squeeze before backing off.

"Not going to get teary-eyed, now are you?" Inuyasha grumbled as soon as she was done. She gave his shoulder a slap.

"Shut-up!" She hissed in return but the silver dragon snapped.

"You got rid of the letter, I saw you, so I could throw you off my back as soon as I got free. You'd be good lunch, I'm getting hungry, so I'd suggest you shut your overactive mouth!" He rumbled, purposely not offering her a foreleg to help her mount. She ended up having to scramble up the harness, and before she could get settled he bucked once, nearly unseating her.

With a dragon grin, that was quickly wiped, Inuyasha settled and allowed the assistant, a different man, to hand Kagome the bow and quiver of arrows, which were strapped to the his harness.

The man stood back and waved an affirmative and she gave Inuyasha's shoulder a quick kick, making him unfurl his wings and tense, ready to spring into the sky.

"Halt!" Roared a voice, just as Inuyasha began the important downbeats to get them into the sky.

Amber and brown eyes turned to the archway where a man, clothed in a robe of white baboon fur, was striding in, a young fox demon at his heels, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Shippo!" She cried out, but her words were lost amongst the others as they fell to their knees.

"Lord Naraku, may your rule last for eternity." They chanted, but Naraku had eyes only for the silver dragon, and the girl on his back.

She was familiar, far too familiar, and not just from their previous two encounters.

"They're going to try to escape?" He inquired the pathetic mound of fur at his heels. Shippo nodded.

"What did you say?" Naraku hissed, as the dragon began to gain altitude.

"They're planning to escape, and somehow destroy the compound." Shippo whispered, but the lord heard, and doubted the truth behind the kitsune's words.

His eyes locked on the girl's face, seeing it clearly despite the distance between them, and then it clicked, just as she raised the bow and arrow and sighted along the shaft.

Kikyo, the missing soul, and the needed girl… she had been here all along.

"Catch them, I want the girl alive!" He roared, and his personal guards flooded in, arrows knocked in moments and bowstrings tight and ready. Those without bows drew swords while the other dragongirl and the kistune recoiled in horror.

"I don't care what happens, I want the girl breathing!" He shouted and the archers fired, but the dragon was quicker, flapping into the sky, the once tightly bound collar falling limply to the ground, knocking one guard out with the force of that impact, and the arrows flew past the pair.

"Do not let them leave!" He bellowed, as the archers knocked more arrows to the string, but the roar of the silver dragon, which was not drugged after all, silenced his cry. The creature screamed in rage and defiance and swooped, his roar stunning the archers, and from his back the girl released her arrow.

She focused, willing her power into the bow, and released the bowstring. With a thwang the arrow flew, straight down and true, the violet-pink aura flaring with brilliance as the weapon descended, directly into the wood planking above the Lord Naraku's head.

Immediately the wood was set aflame, but the Lord Naraku dodged with ease, landing in a circle of straw, safe from the sacred flames that now spread through the compound's roof, the screams of dragons and humans alike never reaching his ears.

Naraku snapped his fingers and a much smaller girl appeared in front of him, holding a mirror, and as she shifted her hands the mirror began to glow.

With a gasp Kagome dropped her bow and fell limply forwards in the harness. It was cold, so cold, and she was suddenly so very tired. She fell into a faint, her eyes closing sightlessly. The last words she heard were a rumbling growl, echoing loudly in her head.

"Kagome…? Kagome!" The silver dragon roared as the brightly flaming compound disappeared below them.

"Kagome…!"

-

"Kanna." The serpentine voice ordered.

The girl stepped forwards, holding the mirror in her hands. Her small fingers shifted on the mirror's border then turned it counterclockwise. At once the dim room was filled with a silvery glow, glowing even brighter than the pit's slightly warm coals.

The figure on the bed did not stir, even as the shimmering silver soul detached itself from the mirror. For a moment the soul hung there, as if unsure, then floated towards the doorway, bobbling gently, but before either of the two could move an eerie ethereal screech followed.

From the figure on the bed of coals rose three serpentine creatures, each of silver blue. Their bodies were long and scaled, their tails glowing like a flying star's. Their heads were like a snake's, with large dragonfly wings attached, as well as six insect-like legs.

"Soul collectors." The lord remarked, slightly surprised, as the creatures drifted towards the soul.

They emitted that strange shriek again before one of them snatched the soul with its legs. All three flew towards the figure, surrounding it, and the middle one let the soul loose. It hovered for a moment then submerged into the maiden's body.

Two cold brown eyes flickered open, alive once more.

* * *

**A/N:** Someone guessed correctly about the escape plan, I must be less obvious. Oh, and 15 reviews next time. After that it will be 20.


	8. Chapter 7: A Hero Come Home

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Maiden of the Seven Stars:.**_

* * *

_**.:Chapter 7: A Hero Come Home:.**_

With a might blast of silver wings he tore upwards in the sky, wanting to rise and snatch at the clouds, to flip and dance at his new freedom, and yet he wanted to go back down. His blood was screaming at him, he wanted to fight; he wanted to see that compound destroyed in the purifying fires of Sacred Power.

And, strange as it was, there was one thing that kept him from doing both.

Her.

He beat his wings again before sliding easily into a glide, hugging the thermals and tilting to one side, turning to the west, towards the forest and the hills. As he did so he cocked his head and twisted his neck about, to look at her.

She was slumped against his neck, strapped tight to the saddle. She looked very uncomfortable, but he couldn't do anything about that. Better uncomfortable then flopping around aimlessly.

He'd never figured out what had happened to her. It was strange, one moment she was firing, power radiating from her, and the next moment it was gone, like she had been drained. Of course, you couldn't drain sacred power, it was tied to the soul, bound to the life force of the vessel, and the bastard lord Naraku couldn't touch it.

He shouldn't care about her. After she had turned his life upside down, after she had threatened to tell on him, threatened to make him nothing but a piece of silver hide, adorning the lord's boots. He could easily dump her off right here, get rid of one of the many problems in his dreary, run-down life.

But he couldn't.

He stared at her, the raven-black hair, and the pale beauty of her skin. With her eyes closed he could barely tell them apart. She pretty much _was_ Kikyo, and even after… after what Kikyo had done, if she was on his back now he wouldn't drop even one such as her.

Of course, Kikyo would kill him long before she got on his back and let him fly, but it was a rhetorical thought.

He growled and turned back to flying, beating to glide into a thermal. His stomach rumbled, just enough to be noticed, like and itch that wouldn't go away, but he could last a few days without food or water. He had to worry about her.

_Weakling._

He hissed at himself, as he glanced back at Kagome's limp body. He was weak, if not in body then at heart. Any other him would have thrown her off long ago and flapped his way to his own life again, and he couldn't bring himself to do that. He owed her, he supposed, in some vague way, but he owed her.

He owed her everything.

* * *

The crunch of sandals on a gravel path echoed through the great palace turned compound, only hidden by the pitter-patter of rain.

In the courtyard a swishing sound could be heard, the sound of a weapon in motion.

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter

The clatter of sandaled feet comes closer, the swishing of the blue-black robes, and the faintest jingling as six golden rings clash together.

The weapon, a great boomerang, whips about in the air, spinning out in an arch before twirling back to the hand that had thrown it.

Pitter-patter, pitter-patter

The sandals stopped, just underneath the protective overhang of the roof, the white socked toes hardly an inch away from the steps into the barren courtyard,

The boomerang goes for another swing.

The footsteps pause, and then continue, soft and silent.

The figure in the courtyard doesn't notice anything. She snatches the boomerang from the air.

The monk steps forwards, the distance between the two closing, and slips on a rain slicked stone.

The girl whirls around, the boomerang before her, and pounces on the one behind her. In less than a second she has him straddled, one edge of her boomerang, however dull, right above his neck, and then she recognizes him.

"Perverted monk." Sango hissed before getting up, brushing the mud from the pink armor at her kneecaps.

Miroku stood up as well, the back of his robes completely sodden, his short black hair slicked with mud. He brushed it aside with his right hand, a hand bound in a gauntlet, a rosary of light blue beads wrapped around it. In his left hand he holds a staff, golden and long in his hand, ending in a loop where six golden rings hang.

She put her free hand on her hip, the other holding Hiraikotsu, the bone boomerang, over one shoulder.

"What do you want?" She hissed, her toe tapping.

"Sango, please, it's not what you think!" The monk said pleasantly, waving a hand soothingly.

"Right, sneaking up on me, alone, in the rain, when nobody should be outside." She snorted, "What's your excuse this time?"

"I've got news." Miroku replied, his tone serious, all of the serene pleasantry gone from his handsome face.

She frowned, her pretty features tilting downwards.

"What's happened now? Were our spies caught? Has he found us?" She asked, ducking under the protective overhang of the roof, Miroku following, as she made for her quarters.

"Our spies haven't been caught, they're dead." Miroku said softly and she turned on him.

"Dead? All of them? Impossible, who blabbed?" She asked, her free hand clenched, as if ready to pound whoever had dared betray the identities of their spies.

"That's just it, Sango, they weren't told on." He said, stopping a safe distance from her fist. "Two days ago the entire compound caught fire-"

"They'd have escaped!" She interrupted, but he held up a hand.

"Since when has fire flared with pink-violet light? It was power, and it spread through the entire compound, burning everything… or nearly that. Strangest thing was, all that was left was the firewood, some straw, and a multitude of other simple products."

She stared at him, quite blankly.

"You've finally lost your mind." She said, though her tone clearly said even she didn't believe what she was saying.

"It's Sacred Power, I should know, the other monks had some, though not much. It's purifying power, able to channel through the impure and destroy it. Water won't affect it." He paused, remembering.

"The last great source of Sacred Power was around fifty years ago, Ki-"

But Sango silenced him with a wave.

"Don't talk about her." She snapped, and he knew not to press the topic.

Kikyo had been responsible for the destruction of the previous ranks of Taijiya. She and her dragonriders had swooped in, carrying off many of the brave fighters in their talons, including Hitoshi, Sango's father, and Kohaku, her dear younger brother, and the last of her family. Sango would never forgive her, though Kikyo was long dead now, for reasons unknown.

He believed it was from her own power, the Sacred Power she had held. She had attempted something with it, and it had failed, but what she had been doing remained a mystery, a mystery he hoped to solve.

"So you're saying another source of Sacred Power has emerged, Naraku's prime dragon compound is in smithereens, and we have to establish new contacts on his grounds?" She asked, her voice tight. She hated to lose anyone, no matter how useless he or she was. She was a great leader, yes, but she had been known to sacrifice herself for her warriors.

She had shed a lot of years off of his life, and her closest friends, with her actions.

"Yes. According to the local gossip there was a great fire, true, and a girl riding a silver dragon escaped. They were the cause of the fi-" He started to say, but was cut off as a young boy ran up to them.

"Lady Sango, Sir Miroku," He blurted, panting. "I come from Woshiba, from the scouts, and they share reports of a silver dragon flying over here." He said, puzzled by the urgency of his message, but he had carried it as fast as he could.

"Do you think..?" Miroku asked.

"Only one way to find out." She replied, and they headed to the main hall, much to the puzzlement of the messenger boy.

* * *

She groaned stirring slightly in her half-sleep. She tried to move, to rub her eyes, but she felt so drained, so exhausted. She didn't have any energy at all, or very little and something told her she shouldn't waste any of it.

She opened her eyes, still heavy with wanted sleep, and found it was dark all around her. Not really dark, actually, but a dull gray sort of dark. She reached out in it, with a hand, vaguely realizing she was on the ground, and hit something with the texture of leather.

Immediately the world shifted around her, the sky turned and the ground vibrated and she yelped, only to be bathed in sudden moonlight as the gray dusk, a large silver wing, was pulled from above her.

She glanced up to see a pair of tired amber eyes staring down at her.

"Inu…yasha?" She tried to speak, finding her voice somewhat resembling a croak. The dragon bobbed his head in affirmation before lowering it to his forepaws. She found his neck curled near her head and she leaned back against his warmth.

"Are you alright?" The dragon rumbled, and she could feel that he was tired.

"I'm alright, I'm just tired…" She murmured, half closing her eyes. She wanted to sleep…

"Kagome," whispered the dragon, and his neck pulled back from her hair. "I'm tired as well, and hungry. You've been out for at least a few days." He informed softly.

"A few days?" She asked, her voice unchanged though she was surprised. No wonder, if she hadn't had food or water for-

"I made you drink." He said, "But I can't find anything edible for you, it's different for a dragon, but I think I've destroyed the local prey. I need to hunt, to get something big, and you'll only get in my way, even if we had a saddle left."

"What do you-?" She started to ask, before she caught the remains of black leather around her. He must have gnawed if off of them both.

"Can you manage?" Inuyasha asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine, if I can get to the trees, if they're really trees." She replied, they were in a clearing, probably made from when Inuyasha had landed.

"They're trees." Inuyasha replied, getting to his paws.

"Grab on to my muzzle." He ordered, though his weary voice didn't command nearly enough attention. She obeyed though, and he pulled her to her feet and pulling her gently over to the trees. She tried to walk, but she was too tired and ended up slumped against the tree trunk.

"Here, I salvaged one of these." The dragon rumbled, handing her an arrow. He must have snatched it as her quiver had fallen, she though vaguely, but accepted it anyways. Worst come to worst she could set the forest in a Sacred Fire if a demon attacked her.

"I'll try to be quick." He growled before lumbering into the air.

She watched his silvery form disappear into the sky and glanced at the arrow, but the shaft and head blurred in her hand and as her eyelids fell she didn't bother lifting them again, falling into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Kirara senses something!" Sango cried as the great fire cat swooped down to run along the ground. She was white furred with black paws and ears, with great white fangs protruding from her muzzle, and flames flickered from her paws and her two foxtails. The loyal demon cat bounded down to the earth, keeping pace next to Miroku's black gelding.

"There's an aura coming from ahead of us." Was Miroku's response, and she inwardly wished he could always be this serious. He was always trying to-

she felt a hand reach down her back.

Flesh met flesh in a sickening sound and the group of Taijiya all winced, they knew what had happened.

"You lech!" She cried in fury as Kirara rose up into the sky. Miroku, still stunned, nearly lost control of his gelding. A swelling red mark on his cheek, in the vague shape of a hand, seemed to glow.

"Now now, Sango, you'll give us away." He managed to say, and she snorted, just as they came upon the clearing.

"This wasn't here yesterday." One of the Taijiya pointed out.

"Something must have made it." Miroku said.

"Could that be it?" She asked, pointing out to the blurred figure of a girl, asleep against a tree at the other side of the clearing.

"Surround her, don't let her escape!" Miroku ordered, even though Sango supposedly had overall command, but the Taijiya obeyed, melding into the shadows.

"Is she human?" Sango whispered as she and Kirara prepared to ascend to the treetops.

"To far to tell, but whatever she is she's going down." Miroku whispered in reply.

She groaned again as she heard a vague shout. It was annoyed, probably Inuyasha, complaining about something or other.

She forced her eyes open, only to see an empty clearing before her. Nobody was there.

Maybe he couldn't see her, she pondered and staggered to her feet. Inuyasha should be done with his hunting by now, she felt like she had slept for a while, but she didn't feel rested at all.

She forced herself to walk into the middle of the clearing, or what she hoped was the middle, and looked up at the sky. She didn't think she saw anything, unless that blurry oval… no, that was the moon.

"Inuyasha?" She tried to cry, but the words came out as a whisper, and she wondered vaguely what was happening to her.

And then there was the metallic unsheathing of swords and stone faced warriors flew out of the surrounding forest. They all wore armor, mainly black with a little color, and she saw one of them was a monk. They were all ready to attack, and she held up a hand in appeal.

"Speak, witch, and tell me your name!" Ordered the monk, his golden staff aimed towards her.

"Please… don't attack…" She croaked. It must have sounded like a spell, because the monk tensed.

"You have the count of three to start talking, and stop chanting your spells, or we attack!" he called, and the gelding he sat on shifted.

"Wait…"

"One!"

"Please…"

"Two!"

"Don't…….."

"THREE!" The monk screamed and the warriors began to charge, just as she released all of her pent up energy.

"_INUYASHA_!" She screamed, feeling the drain of energy literally pull her down to the ground. Her knees buckled and her head spun, and she could only hope Inuyasha had heard her.

Not too far off a great silver dragon lifted his bloodied head, his muscles ringing with alarm, his ear's ringing with his name.

"Kagome!" He roared, lunging into the sky.

* * *

All of the Taijiya stopped as the witch spoke something sensible, a something that happened to be of legend in their ranks. One of the tales spoke of a great hero, a half demon, and he went by the name of Inuyasha…

All of the stopped to stare as the witch collapsed, shock laced on all of their faces, tension following a moment later. She had said it with the force of a spell, a powerful one, but nothing was happening.

And then there was a roar of pure fury from above and as all eyes lifted to the sky a great silver dragon fell from the sky. He roared, a sound loud enough to send them all covering their ears, and in hardly a moment he had swooped and landed, falling over the girl and bugling his rage.

They all stood there, at a standstill, and then the girl moved. She groaned and stood up and then smiled slightly as she saw the dragon paw beside her. The dragon shot her a quick glance before turning back to the warriors, hissing savagely.

"Hiraikotsu!" Cried a voice, and the great bone boomerang shot out from the air, a scream following as a great fire cat leapt into the sky from the trees.

The dragon paused, surprised, and then reached up with his maw, snatching the boomerang out from the sky and forcing it down to the ground, where one fore claw fell on it, and then he spoke, surprisingly enough.

"Hiraikotsu…" He rumbled and then looked up, where a surprised Sango sat on a frozen Kirara.

"Kirara…" He whispered, staring at the cat, and then sniffed at the girl who sat astride the fire cat's back.

"Of the Hitoshi line, which must mean you are…" He paused, and then his eyes lit up.

"You are the Taijiya." He growled, turning to Sango.

"You are Inuyasha?" She asked in return.

"You want proof, give me my sword." He snapped in return. "Give me the Tetsusaiga." He ordered it, as if he had command.

Sango paused and then turned to her waist, where two swords were sheathed. She pulled out the one at her right hip, the one that looked like a rusted piece of junk.

"The sword Tetsusaiga." She said, and suddenly the sword pulsed, and she let go of it with a jerk.

It spiraled into the air, landing in the dragon's mouth. At once the blade flared to life, growing in size and power until it was once again the legendary omnipotent fang, crackling with golden light.

From between Inuyasha's forepaws Kagome watched in awe as he whipped his neck about, showing them all the sword, and all remembered the lore of the half-demon who had disappeared in the war of the dragons.

"Taijiya, to me!" He cried, the ancient battle cry, and something stirred in all of them to make them all say his name.

"Inuyasha…" The Taijiya whispered and the murmur spread like wildfire.

On his black gelding, Miroku stared, transfixed.

"The Hero has come home." He whispered, and the dragon waved the sword about.

"The Hero has finally come home."

* * *

**A/N:** Really sorry I'm so late in updating, but I was on spring break and got grounded and all of that stuff. Also had some evil piano tests to prepare for, so I was really busy. Meanwhile, I got some really good reviews, and I feel the need to reply to some of them. A thanks and reply to:

**YukiConrong**: Haven't read any of those, but I'll try to check them out. And yeah, I made Shippo snitch, he's just... well, a real good doer.

**iwantmoreIY**: Thanks, and -blush- You have a good point there.

Oh, and please, if anyone knows a good symbol for the lines I had to put in so the story would flow rightit'll be much appreciate, and aesthetically pleasing. Thanks and please review!


	9. Chapter 8: Reincarnation

**A/N**: I'm really, really, sorry about the late update, but I've been busy and I was working on other fanfictions. Two are up and coming, Steps to Eternity and Heaven's War, though the title of the latter will probably change. You guys can decide which I should do first, here are some summaries. The scales are tipped towards Heaven's War, though.

**Steps to Eternity**: (KagInu) Japan is devided in four provinces, two for the demons and two for the humans. In the middle of the four lands is a ring of no-mans land, where a structure similiar to stonehenge rests. One thousand leagues away, in the center of each of the four provinces, lies a staircase, leading up to who knows where. When the four provinces fell to war, the stairs sealed themselves away, to be lost in myth and legend. Now the present arrives, bringing a defiant princess, a bodyguard set on revenge against those who cast him away, and the appearence of a small pink jewel to tie them all together.

**Heaven's War**: (KagInu) Heaven, the realm that rules all reality, has a mind of her own, and when she sees the birth of a half demon, an imperfection the two races of Japan, she sets out to fix the problem... permanently. So she sends down a soul who, after manifesting in a human body, becomes a priestess set out to fulfill her task. Unfortuanetly, Heaven wasn't counting on her assasin falling in love or the chaos that would bring.

Now, on to the story!

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Maiden of the Seven Stars:.**_

_**.:Chapter 8: Reincarnation:.**_

Brown eyes, black hair, pale skin… so strange.

It was a girl… no, a woman. A woman with the blackest hair, and skin as pale as snow. The woman was looking into the water, a tear falling from her face.

No, it wasn't a tear that had rolled down her cheek. It was just the rain.

The woman stared as the water rippled around her feet, straight at her reflection.

Kagome gasped as her dream twisted her tight in its grip, as her eyes were locked onto the eyes of the reflection of the woman.

It was her.

* * *

With a groan she twisted away from her dream, leaving everything about it buried deep into her mind, so that when she finally opened her eyes she saw only a dim room, and couldn't remember a thing about the nightmare that had woken her up.

She stared up at the ceiling, a tight canvas tent, waterproof and warm, that let in light as the sun rose, and she wondered where she was. These weren't the streets, nor Inuyasha's cozy stall, and then she remember the vague trip last night.

She had watched as the warriors approached slowly, the one abroad the fire demon taking the sword from Inuyasha. Then they had spoken, though the words were lost in her exhaustion, but a moment later she was on a horse, a black stallion, Inuyasha's head hovering at one side and they began to move.

She had talked, of small things, of her life. The monk on the horse had been so kind, so friendly.

She groaned with annoyance at that thought. She had been feeling rather content all of a sudden, and then his hand slid from her waist and down to her bottom.

It hadn't gotten any farther than that, because a moment later the monk was in the dirt and Inuyasha's dragon snout was hovering behind her.

"Pervert." The silver dragon had hissed. "Definitely of the Otoshi line."

From then on she had ridden solo, with only the silver dragon by her side.

What had become of the monk, she would never know.

She sighed and tried to sit up a little in bed, only to find she was still as tired as she had been last night… or had she slept for a whole day?

"What's wrong with me?" She asked to the tent.

"How should I know?" Grumbled an overly sarcastic voice to her left, and she started.

"Then again, you were always the stupid one."

"Inuyasha?" She asked, turning to see a massive bulk of silver scales, coiled like a snake, and two amber eyes.

"Who else, wench, and don't start getting all nice on me. I only saved you last night because you got me out of that compound." He growled.

"Consider it payback, I'm not indebted to you anymore." He snapped and closed his eyes again.

"What are you talking about?" She snapped, getting both angry and annoyed herself.

"I helped you because I needed your help, you weren't indebted to me!"

"Pah, that's what you say _now_." He hissed.

"I say it now because it's true!" She snapped in return, and he glared at her, but before he could throw a snappish retort the tent flap was shoved out of the way, and the poor messenger had to face Inuyasha's furious wrath.

"You'd think they'd learn to knock or something." He hissed. "Particularly at the tent of a _very important guest_!"

The young boy faltered and then bowed, shakily.

"S-sorry M'lord, just that the Monk Miroku is coming to check on-on-" He stuttered. He didn't know her name.

"I'm Kagome." She said softly, and the boy nodded.

"That fraud?" Inuyasha snapped.

"He's not a fraud, although he certainly acts like one." A clear female voice called, and a moment later a girl entered the tent. She was tall and thin, wearing tight fitting black mail, and pink armored clasps that held it at her shoulders and knees. Behind her stood Miroku, who was trying to look miffed.

"Inuyasha, please! Sango's right, I do have monk powers!"

"Even if he is a womanizer." Sango hissed and Inuyasha bobbed his head in bare agreement.

"You've got one chance, monk." The dragon hissed, before his attention was diverted by a small mew.

A small little cat-demon had made its way between everyone's legs and was sitting next to Kagome, who smiled and stroked the little creature.

Whipping his neck around Inuyasha glanced at the demon, and then touched his snout to its nose. It licked him, obviously unafraid despite the size difference.

"Kirara! Come here!" Called Sango, and the adorable little demon bounded into the girl's open arms, as Miroku moved up to sit on the edge of Kagome's bed.

"Close your eyes and relax." He ordered, raising his right hand, the one that was wrapped in a protective rosary. His left began to gently shake his staff and the six golden rings jingled rhythmically.

"I'm warning you, Monk…" Inuyasha growled, but he fell silent.

She closed her eyes obediently and leaned back in the pillows behind her, letting the rhythmic jingling of the staff lull her into a relaxed state. She nearly fell asleep before Miroku waved his staff before her face, the rings jangling in discord before falling still again.

"What's wrong with me?" She asked, opening her eyes, only to see the monk's pleasant face take on a grave mask.

"I wish I could say something different, but I've got a dragon at my back who will make me tell the truth." He said, glancing at Inuyasha's bobbing head. The dragon snapped at the air, displaying a canine.

"It appears, Kagome, that you have had part of your soul leeched from you." He said, his eyes closed.

Utter silence met his words which hovered for several moments before Inuyasha finally spoke.

"How do you know?" The dragon snapped.

"You've felt weak, and even after rest you're still tired." Miroku said, addressing Kagome. She nodded.

"She's perfectly healthy, as our healers say, so this cannot be a disease, and there is an aura about her that seems… incomplete." The monk continued. "You have Sacred Power, I presume?"

Again, she nodded.

"Have you been able to touch upon it ever since your escape?"

"No… It's like I never had any power at all." She replied.

"It's been leeched away." Miroku concluded, "And since Sacred Power is tied to your soul it is safe to say part of your soul has been taken."

"Only part?" Sango asked. "Why not drain the entire soul?"

"A soul does not live unless it is in its own vessel. Those that are freed or taken whole can only provide a life force, not life itself." The monk replied.

"You mean something out there is living… as Kagome?" Inuyasha butted in, wearing an expression that suggested he was fairly confused at the idea.

"Basically, you have a soul, and you have a life. Your soul created and is attached to your life. When your life dies, your soul will create another life, and attach itself to that one. Each life will be unique, but all of the lives that have been attached to a certain soul will share something in common. If you were to take a part of a soul, leaving the rest attached to the proper life, the soul would not create a new life, but from that fragment of a soul you can revive one of the soul's previous lives, because of the link between the soul and the life." The monk said. "It's the theory of Reincarnation, where two lives are particularly similar, adapted to fit here."

Everyone stared at him, waiting for him to go on or chewing the information they had been given.

"In other words, someone is not living as Kagome, you cannot duplicate a life, but as a past life of her soul, and judging from who Kagome is, and who has taken part of her soul, we can determine which life was resurrected." He said, but before he had finished Inuyasha was up and bristling, his scales rippling in anger.

Kagome wasn't the only one who could see the pain in his eyes

"No, never! She's dead, I don't care for your hocus pocus theories!" He roared, and they all stuffed their fingers in their ears.

She could feel the tears prick at her eyes, and not just for the force of the sound. The sheer amount of hurt, unable to be disguised by anger, that was in the dragon's keening roar was enough to bring her near tears. For a moment the sound reverberated through the canvas, and then there was silence.

Golden eyes glared and were met with steady brown, and then in a flash of silver scales Inuyasha disappeared between the canvas flaps and the distinct beating of wings informed them all that the silver dragon was gone.

Finally, she broke the silence.

"What happened between the two of them, Inuyasha and Kikyo?" She asked, and she heard Miroku sigh.

"He loved her." Sango said, sadly. "And I think she may have loved him, at a time, but something happened…"

"Kikyo was a pure soul, with a great well of Sacred Power." Miroku said, then stopped.

"And?" She persisted, but both of them were staring at the ground.

"This isn't our tale to tell." Miroku finally said. "All we know is something, fifty years ago, corrupted Kikyo."

But who? What? She thought, knowing the question beneath his words, and with a sigh she leaned back in the cushions.

Poor Inuyasha, he had suffered so much… but he couldn't have been a dragon at that time! No one would fall in love with a dragon, so that meant Inuyasha hadn't always been a dragon… and what were the Taijiya and what purpose did they have? Oh, so many questions, why hadn't she asked?

She opened her eyes, the words on the tip of her tongue, but the tent was empty.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry, it's a little short, but I will update before mid-may, I promise! Please review guys, feedback is always appreciated!


	10. Chapter 9: By Sun's Lost Light

**A/N**: Okay guys, here's the next update. I think you'll like it, it was one of my favorite chapter's to write.

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Darkwolfgal:.**_

* * *

_**.:Chapter 9: By Sun's Lost Light:.**_

"So we're fighting Lord Naraku again now— Porridge?"

She nodded and gratefully accepted the proffered bowl of steaming porridge, gulping it down carefully, but still nearly scalding her tongue. She slowed down; it wasn't as if Miroku didn't have time to answer her questions. She had been placed in his 'care', though Sango had warned her about his lecherous ways.

She sighed and downed another spoonful, thinking about what he had already told her about the Taijiya. They were an ancient band of warriors, committed to fighting demons. When the demons had settled down though, they had been left without a purpose and many of them had moved on.

That was when the dragons appeared, and soon after the overlord of the beasts, Naraku. The Taijiya had been immediately suspicious, the dragons had the destructive potential of demons, and with Naraku in control of them the world would fall to its knees before him. Even worse, though, was the fact that the dragons were not normal creatures. They were creations, and creations had to be made from something. Considering how powerful the dragons were, that something they had been made from couldn't simply be herbs and spells. There had to be something more.

So the Taijiya had sent scouts into Naraku's dragon compounds, but they were soon caught. The Taijiya were revealed, and Naraku swore war against the rebelling band. Sango's father had led those battles, and on one particularly successful battle they discovered a sword. It was in horrible shape, but there was power in it.

Soon after, Inuyasha had appeared and had taken his sword back. He had been a valuable ally, strong and a born leader, but he most certainly hadn't been a dragon then. No, he had been a half demon, with a mane of silver hair and two pointed dog-ears. According to Miroku, his eyes had never changed.

Then, Inuyasha had fallen in love with a wayfaring priestess who had helped defend a Taijiya stronghold. She traveled across the countryside, but it seemed clear the times they spent together had been filled with love, and victory, for with her aid Naraku was always beaten back and much lost land was regained.

She had sent a letter once, asking Inuyasha to meet her at the main town, Naraku's headquarters. She apparently 'needed to get something of value from a friend' but needed Inuyasha's protection. He had set off and he was never seen again. Only his sword, Tetsusaiga, floating down the river and the scrap of white cloth that served as a note stuck in its sheath. It had only said one word, in messy scrawl that seemed to have been hurriedly written, written in blood. 'Betrayal.'

Both Sango and Miroku's fathers had died in a great battle, forcing the Taijiya to scatter, but Sango, as the leader now, had been regrouping whatever Taijiya she could find and massed them in the fortress, which, Miroku now confirmed, was more of a fortified palace. The spies at the compound had found out about the shattered jewel, but since she and Inuyasha had killed them no one knew where the shards were.

"But what happened between them? Surely you had heard something?" She persisted, her bowl of porridge nearly done, and she shifted on the cushioned mats next to the table. It was a week since she had gotten out of bed, and she had recovered well from the soul draining.

Miroku shook his head, as if he didn't know anything, but his words denied that.

"As I said before, it is not my tale to tell." He said solemnly. "You'll have to ask Inuyasha himself."

"Speaking of Inuyasha, where is he?" She asked, seizing the subject.

"I haven't seen him." The monk replied nonchalantly.

"Come on, he's go to be somewhere!" She groaned, more to herself than to Miroku, but surprisingly she got an answer.

"I swore I wouldn't tell anyone, but…" He said something more, but it was incoherent with the sounds of the other Taijiya getting breakfast around them.

"What did you say?" She asked, and Miroku looked around, and then beckoned her closer. She leaned around the table, rising on her knees until her ear was almost an inch from his mouth—

And she felt a hand groping at her behind.

- - -

The messenger boy outside looked up, puzzled, at a scream of feminine rage and the clash of flesh against flesh. A moment later several dishes shattered, one, flying through the window, shattered not far from his feet. He quickly went back to work.

---------

_The little boy looked up at the sound of footsteps, suddenly on edge. His two silver dog-ears pinned, hiding in his mane of silver hair, and he lifted his head, his nose twitching delicately for a moment. Suddenly, he broke into a grin, lowering into a crouch and bounding down the path on all fours._

"_Father!" The boy cried in delight, stopping at the human shaped demon and hugging its leg._

"_Inuyasha," The demon boomed pleasantly, bending to tousle the boy's hair, and the little half-demon pouted._

"_I'm not a pup anymore!" He cried, but the demon only smiled._

"_You've been good for your mother, haven't you?" He asked, and the boy bobbed his head._

"_I was very good, I didn't even chase the squirrels! Well… while she wasn't looking-"_

"_I'll pretend I didn't hear that." A serene voice said from behind the two demons and a woman stepped from the mist, her lavish kimono draped around her. Invisible to the boy, her eyes were filled with worry._

"_Inuyasha, I brought you something." The dog demon said with a forced smile, pulling out a red ball from his yukata and offering it to the young half-demon, who cried out in delight and took it, bouncing it along the road._

_Thunk… Thunk… Thunk…_

The silver stone shifted, revealing it wasn't really a stone but scales, and further scrutiny revealed a draconic head, which tossed slightly in its sleep.

"Not again…" He moaned, before his dream—or was it a nightmare? — claimed him.

"_Please, do not go!" Pleaded the woman's voice, she was on her knees, begging._

"_Think of Inuyasha!" She cried._

"_I must fight, my reputation demands it. I will lose my title as the Lord of the West." The demon argued, his voice rising as the woman began to plead again._

_In the hall the little half-demon boy shivered, his ears pinned. In his hands he clutched the red ball, the gift from his father. He knew he shouldn't be there, listening, and he started to walk away, sniffing as a tear rolled down his cheek._

"_What was that?" The demon behind the door demanded, suddenly protective, and he threw open the door, only to reveal the tearing boy._

"_Father, don't go." The boy begged, his lip quivering. "I don't want you to leave again!" The half-demon pleaded, bursting into tears. The elder demon scooped him up in strong arms, cradling the boy at his chest._

"_Alright then Inuyasha, shush, I'm not going to go." The demon murmured softly, starting to walk down the hall, his wife at his heels._

"_You won't?" The boy asked, tearfully, but with undisguised hope._

"_I won't." His father repeated, sliding open the door to the boy's bedroom and setting the boy on the cushions that served as his bed, but the boy hung on to his long sleeves, staring tearfully into his father's amber eyes._

"_Promise you won't go?" He asked, and the demon looked over his shoulder at his wife, who narrowed her eyes before casting her gaze to the floor._

"_I promise Inuyasha, I won't go, now go to sleep." The demon ordered, tucking the boy into his bed and handing him the red ball. A moment later the peaceful rise and fall of the half demon's chest revealed he was asleep._

_When the boy woke the next morning, his father was gone._

The dragon stirred again, thrashing, across the ground. A nearby rabbit lifted its head from the grass before bounding off, afraid. The dragon grumbled, his head turning in his forepaws, his claws shredding at the ground.

"Go away…" He rumbled, "Leave me alone…"

_Thunk… Thunk… Thunk…_

_The red ball bounded along the cobblestone path._

_The boy chased after it, his bare feet hardly making a sound as he ran._

_Two hands closed on the ball, long before he did, and the stranger appraised the ball._

"_Let us play catch." He said and the boy nodded, eagerly, but the stranger was talking to the humans behind him, and he ignored the little boy, tossing the ball over his shoulder._

_A woman caught it, tossing it to a man. The man returned it to the stranger; the woman caught the ball again. She tossed it, the man missed, and the ball went bouncing down the bridge. The boy bounded after it, snatching it up and turning back to the humans._

"_Lets play!" He cried happily, but the humans eyed him with scorn and left, without another word._

"_Worthless halfbreed." Said a voice to his left. He turned, scared, to see a large demon sitting in a tree overhead._

"_You're a fool, trying to play with the humans." The demon hissed. He looked so much like the other one, the one the boy had called father._

_He chucked the ball at the demon with sudden anger. It glanced off a barrier and went plopping into the rushing waters below the bridge._

"_Foolish halfbreed." The demon remarked as the boy ran tearfully back to where his mother stood on the pagoda, bounding into her arms._

"_Mama?" He asked tearfully. "What's a halfbreed?"_

_His mother only smiled sadly, and then saw the demon on the bridge._

"_You." She said, and the boy turned._

"_He's mean." The boy said, hiding behind his mother's kimono._

"_What do you want?" His mother hissed, her face pale with fear._

"_I want my half brother." The demon said, his voice cold. "I want his life, I want it snuffed out."_

"_I'll never let you!" His mother cried, and the demon chuckled._

"_Leave him here, in one hour," The demon ordered, "Or I will have your head, and then his." And with that, the demon was gone._

"_Inuyasha." The woman said, and the boy peered out from behind his mother's skirts._

"_Is he gone-" The boy started, but his mother moved away._

"_You have to go now." She said, sorrowfully, shoving the boy away from her. He stared back, confused._

"_Mama? What do you mean?" He asked. "I don't want to leave!" He turned back towards her, but she shoved him away._

"_Go, Inuyasha, you must!" She urged, but the half demon still turned back towards her._

"_Mama, I don't want to go!" The boy cried, trying to turn back towards his mother, but she forced him away. When he tried to come back again, she hit him._

"_Mama…?" He cried, tears pricking in his eyes as the pain from his cheek grew._

"_Go!" She urged, but the half demon boy turned back, hugging her tight._

"_Mama…" The boy cried, and tears fell from his mother's eyes as well._

_She let her hands fall to his back, hugging her tightly to him._

"_I'm sorry." She whispered, but he didn't hear as she swept him off his feet, throwing him over the bridge._

"_Mama!" The boy cried, as he fell into the river._

"_Ma…ma…" He gurgled weakly as his head appeared over the water._

"_I'm sorry, Inuyasha." His mother said again, but again he did not hear._

_The sun fell beneath the horizon, but there was no moon in the sky that night._

Two gleaming amber eyes slid open, glazed, unfocused. They did not see the hillside around him, nor the clouded skies or the faintest lights of the Taijiya stronghold. The dragon still slept in his forced slumber, the dragon continued to dream.

Thunk… Thunk… Thunk… 

Clatter… Clatter… Clatter…

Thunk… Thunk… Thunk… 

Clatter… Clatter… Clatter…

_The mist parted, _

A figure stepped from the fog,

_"Inu_

Yasha?"

_That voice,_

His name

_Her face,_

Pale as a ghost,

_With hair of a raven-black hue, _

And brown eyes,

_Cold, deep, and buried in—_

Warmth?

---------

Here she was being stupid again, deciding to take a stroll in the fog, but ever since that perverted monk had tried to grope her that morning she had decided to stay well away from the Taijiya camp. She had healed well enough from the 'drainage' as Miroku constantly referred it, so she had decided to take a walk. Besides, they hadn't seen Inuyasha for days.

"Go away… Leave me alone."

She whipped around, stumbling over something and pivoting like a dancer to keep from falling, but the disembodied voice was silent, which only made her shiver even more.

"Who's there?" She called, turning this way and that. The voice had been so full of pain, like a spirit… could a spirit haunt the stronghold of the Taijiya?

She turned, feeling with her feet, turning and striking at the fog. Who had called out? Was it just a voice in her head? Was she going crazy, was this another effect of the drainage? No, something was stirring out in the fog, something large.

"Anyone there?" She called, making her way towards the sound. Her footsteps seemed so loud, her shoes clattering on the pebbles of the hillside. She waved her arms in front of her and the wind, as if summoned, began to pick up. She saw something then, in the last rays of the sun as it set, a flash of silver, and the gleam of golden eyes. Could it be?

The wind gusted again, determined to blow away the fog, and she stepped forwards.

"Inu…Yasha?" She asked softly, and the dragon's head turned her way, glazed amber eyes growing steadily clearer.

"You… You're not Kikyo." He said again, staring at her, and she shook her head, just as she had done the many times before.

"I'm Kagome."

---------

He stared as the visions of his dream slowly changed form, the brown eyes, chiseled of ice, began to melt. His mind fought at it, trying to bring him back into unconsciousness, but something forced him awake.

"Kagome?" He asked, shocked. What was she doing in his dreams? She wasn't supposed to be here, it was supposed to be Kikyo. Which could only mean one thing.

"You're not supposed to be Kagome! You're supposed to be Kikyo!" He cried, on his feet in an instant. What time was it? Where was the sun? It couldn't be too late, not now, not with the Taijiya so close!

"Inuyasha, calm down… I'm Kagome." The girl cried, but he wouldn't listen, his eyes had caught site of the bare gleam of orange of the sunset.

"No!" He roared, unfurling his wings and beating them rapidly, dispelling the fog so both of them could see the setting sun.

"It's too late!"

---------

She gasped in shock as the dragon roared, unable to find a reason why he was so panicked now.

"Inuya-" She began, but before she could even finish he had rounded on her, eyes blazing with anger mixed with fear.

"You! Why did you have to come and wake me? Get away, _get away_!" He roared, and she clapped her hands over her ears, but glared at him resolutely.

"What's going-" She tried to cry, but his roaring drowned her voice out.

"Get away from me!" He roared, diving at her with his muzzle. She backed away but his fangs appeared out of nowhere, ripping two long cuts through her kimono. Her chest was numb from the blow, and she could feel bruises forming, and the trickle of blood from two small cuts.

"Inuyasha! What's going _on_?" She cried, punctuating the word 'on' with a smack to the silver dragon's snout. Her chest was aching, and she felt winded, but she grabbed his muzzle anyways, her hands trying in vain to hold the mighty jaws shut. Still, something had hit Inuyasha and he stopped with his thrashing.

"You idiot, you're wasting my time!" He hissed, his eyes flicking to the sunset.

"Tell me… what's going on." She panted, meeting his eyes. She did not look away.

He glared at her, and then seemed to realize she wasn't going to leave.

"Listen then, but swear you'll tell no one!" He hissed, and she nodded.

"I… promise." She said, still gasping from his blow, he didn't seem to notice.

"Alright, the monk told you I was a half-demon, right?" He barely gave her time to nod before continuing. "Half-demons are despised by their demon brethren, but they also suffer from something else. Once a month we're forced to take human forms." His eyes leapt to the disappearing sun yet again.

"My time is the new moon, but it's different as a dragon." He hissed quickly, he didn't have much time.

"I can think for myself now because my demon blood resists this dragon form, but on the night of the new moon my human blood runs stronger." He broke eye contact with her; she lacked the strength to force him to meet her eyes.

"I can't control myself, I become like those normal dragons, and I'm powerless!" He cried suddenly, and her ears rang with the pain in his voice. She understood what he felt. Naraku's riders, which were all after the sacred jewel, had chased her through the streets but she couldn't have gotten rid of it.

"My only chance was to fall asleep, then through the night my dragon form would be unconscious, I would never be able to cause trouble, but look what you've done!" He hissed again, glaring at her.

"I don't know what chaos I could reek, I don't know what I'll be doing, and I might kill everyone within twelve hours flight distance! I might… I might…" And then his voice faltered, his pain eclipsed only by the prospect of the guilt he might have to deal with. He had already gone through so much, he couldn't go through more, and she felt tears prick at her eyes.

"You…" He started, as if to blame her, but he stopped and she knew why. The prospects were so great he couldn't even blame her, she whose fault this would be. Either way he would suffer.

Then he jerked his head away from her hands, glaring at the last rays of the sun.

"Go, leave me alone!" He grumbled towards her, his eyes narrowed and the glare of the sun hiding any emotions he might be feeling. She backed away, then stumbled, her chest still aching with the force of his blow, and then she collapsed, the wind knocked out of her. She gasped for breath, clutching at her chest, but her eyes watched as the dragon spread his wings and beat them angrily.

"Kikyo! I'll-" But whatever he was going to say after was lost in the incoherent roar of a dragon in pain as the sun finally set.

The orange ball of fire fell from the sky, revealing a moonless night.

* * *

**A/N**: Well? Hit the purple button and tell me! As a warning, this is summer vacation, I don't live in Australia, so I'm going on vacation for the next three weeks. 


	11. Chapter 10: By Moon's Lost Light

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Maiden of the Seven Stars:.**_

* * *

_**.:Chapter 10: By Moon's Lost Light:.**_

She finally regained her breath before getting up from her crouch. She wobbled for a moment, nearly falling forwards, her hands reaching for something, anything they could grab and they found something.

"Thanks." She muttered, thinking she had grabbed someone's hand, judging from the soft leathery thing beneath her hands.

"You have to get away, we have to—" She started to say, then saw what she was holding.

A jet of hot breath scalded her hands, causing her to shake them quickly before jumping back in fright.

"Inuyasha?" She asked, not sure what was standing in front of her.

In place of the silver dragon stood a black one, his eyes of a dark brown-black. Instead of the silver dragon's strange ears, his were normal. In fact, the dragon before her was entirely normal, like those that stood stud at Naraku's compound.

If normal dragons often glared at her, tails whipping and claws sheathing and unsheathing with menacing scrapes.

The brown eyes gleamed at her, but they didn't bear the fire of Inuyasha's amber eyes. The pupils were slits, the irises duller somehow. They stared with the dull intelligence of a beast, an agitated beast at that.

It growled, stepping forwards, and she immediately stepped back. Its eyes narrowed and its jaws opened, revealing the same pearly fangs, and snapped them before her face. She flinched and backed away again, and the dragon advanced, head swaying.

A smarter person, or one who knew more about dragon characteristics, would have noted the mistake at once. Backing down from a dragon challenge meant the other was better than you, not something you'd want from a tame, nevertheless a wild, dragon.

She turned and ran for the way she had come, only to be yanked back like a catapult. She felt something cold and sharp run down her back, dragon claws only half-sheathed but still able to pierce her kimono and scrape at her back before she was dropped to the ground beside the rock face behind where Inuyasha had made his roost.

The dragon growled, baring his fangs, and she shivered, feeling beads of blood well up on her back.

"Stop, Inuyasha stop! I know you're in there!" She pleaded as the dragon advanced. It paused, cocking its head at her voice. Natural dragons spoke only in growls and snarls, with the occasional trumpeting and chirp, and she could see her voice troubled it.

"Think! You know who I am, you know me!" She called again, her voice firmer, and the dragon stopped. She could see the old fire flare once in the dulled brown irises, and along with it came the old anger.

With a guttural rumble the black dragon moved stiffly forwards, neck snaking about, fangs revealed and tail lacing behind him. She preferred the wild dragon.

"Inuyasha, it's Kagome! Not her, Kagome! Ka-go-may!" She cried, closing her eyes tight as the dragon got within striking range and reared back in a hind foot rise, his wings flapping.

"Inuyasha!" She cried again, ducking down and folding her arms over her head, preparing for the inevitable blow. It never came.

There was a pause, and then hot steam laced her scalp, ruffling through her hair.

"Inuyasha?" She asked cautiously, lifting her head from her hands. The black dragon's snout was snuffling about her hair, his nostrils twitching. Some black tendrils touched at his nose and he sneezed, backing away before sniffing again.

He seemed calmer now, and she took a step forwards. He wouldn't go wild on her, would he?

He didn't, the dragon stepped back.

She advanced again, and once more the dragon stepped back, but she took another step and closed the distance. As the dragon shifted back again, his claws met the cliff ledge, his neck arched, his eyes flicking back at the drop. She could see his wings shift; he was preparing to fly.

No doubt he'd be wreaking destruction somehow, the Taijiya had kitchens going, and would for a while to feed hungry warriors. If Inuyasha hadn't found anything to eat, the Taijiya camp was done for.

Quickly she stepped forwards, closing the distance between her and the dragon, and reached out with her hand, flat palmed to show there was nothing she was hiding.

The dragon stopped unfurling his wings at the sound, staring back at her with great brown eyes, then reached out with his snout, touching her hand with its very tip.

At once the dragon began to shake, tremors that started from his neck and then down through his chest and legs until even his tail fell limp, his wings folding back against his sides. He looked so pitiful there it made her heart ache, and a soft keening howl drifted from him.

If dragons could cry…but they couldn't.

Without meaning to so she stepped forwards again, reaching out for the scaled neck and folding her arms tightly around it, just as the dragon's knees gave way. With a sigh it slumped down, scales rippling, as if it hadn't even realized she was there.

"Go to sleep." She murmured, and the dragon neck curled around her, the black head ending up wrapped around her, encircling her in a loop of scales. A moment later she was hit with a softer warm steam, and she realized he was asleep.

She sighed herself and tried to get up, only to find her left arm still wrapped around the dragon's neck, effectively pinning her. She was stuck out here, with Inuyasha.

It was going to be a long night.

---------

Amber eyes blinked open, squinting at the light that gleamed off his own silver scales. He grumbled softly, shifting slightly, but did not move other than that. He was warm, probably in the sun, and around him was this almost intoxicating smell, of fresh earth and flowers… He would have dozed again, except his memory plagued him.

There was no moonlight; the distant flickering fires of a human civilization didn't provide much light, and the sun was setting fast. Yet he was still awake, and roaring, explaining… It was the new moon; it was his time!

With a yelp his eyes popped open, and one met with gleaming sunlight, and he promptly blinked quickly, closing the inner membrane that shaded the eye from the glare of the sun. His other eye met with a blurred image and it took him a moment to focus.

A face, a girl's… Kikyo— no it was Kagome.

_Kagome!_

He snorted quickly, exhaling deeply before scenting again. It was Kagome, what was she _doing_ next to him?

- - -

She opened her eyes as a scalding breath brushed against her face. Wincing, she blinked, to get used to the sun's silvery glare. Silver? Silver, as in silver scales?

"Inuyasha…?" She asked, and the amber eye swiveled into view.

"How long have you been staring at me?" She demanded, glaring at him, suddenly aware that the front and back of her kimono had been torn, perhaps to shreds. Inuyasha only grunted.

"I'm not a sexist like that monk, and I've been awake for a few minutes." The dragon growled, and she jumped.

"Inuyasha!" She cried, throwing her arms, one of which he had freed moments before, around his muzzle. He blinked in confusion then shook her off quickly.

"What do you think you're doing, girl?" He snapped, "And how long have you been here?" He lifted his neck, his head swiveling, then realized he was on the same cliff side he had been perched on before the sun had set.

She groaned and yawned, getting up before wincing. He turned back to her, the fleeting expression of pain not going unnoticed to the dragon.

"And what's happened to you?" He snapped, and she turned back to his glaring amber eyes.

"I've been here since last night, and you should know what's happened to me! You were—" She started, then fell silent as she saw the glaring amber eyes falter for just a moment.

The glare was nothing more than a façade. He was doing a rather good job of hiding his true feelings, but she had seen it. He knew what he had done, and it jabbed at him again. He didn't say a word in response, only turning his head away and getting to his feet.

"It's morning… they'll be looking for you…" He said softly, and she could feel his pain. Something in his tone reminded her of the black dragon, and that baleful keening note last night and it struck her.

It was all her fault, that Kikyo, who she had been reincarnated as. She had done something, something terrible in the past, and it still hurt Inuyasha. He didn't seem like a great hero or leader now, encased in silver scales, hiding behind his new draconic features, and that prompted her to speak.

"I won't let her hurt you again, I promise." She said, and he turned back to her, eyes mournfully staring into her own for a moment before the inner membranes slid over them, effectively shielding any emotion they could reveal.

"… You can't promise that." He said dumbly as she stumbled to her feet.

"I can try." She growled defiantly, mimicking him, but her image was ruined as she stumbled, the pain from her chest and back overwhelming her for a moment. She reached out again for something, anything, to latch onto.

Once more her hand connected with something soft and leathery, but this time she was not shaken off.

The silver dragon blinked back at her, eyes carefully shielded by the protective inner membranes, but as she watched the inner lids slid open.

"Thanks…" She mumbled, and the dragon slid up besides her, offering her his shoulder, which she leaned onto gratefully.

"We're going… home." The dragon said.

---------

"They're back!" Sango cried, relief filling her voice, and the monk turned towards her fast approaching figure.

"We've caught sight of Inuyasha, and Kagome's with him!" She cried, racing past him, Hiraikotsu still held at ready in her right hand as she interrupted her own training, Kirara at her heels.

"They're back?" He asked Sango's flying ponytail and she turned and nodded.

"Hurry up!" She cried and was off again.

He got up, taking his staff with him, pausing only to bow to the Buddha statue he had been kneeling before.

He arrived just as Kagome fell to her knees, Sango next to her.

"What's happened?" He called, pushing his way through the gathering warriors. His authority in the band cleared him a messy path, but he got to the side of the silver dragon just a moment before one great silver wing shielded them from sight.

"Kagome? What's happened to you two?" He asked, glancing towards Inuyasha, but the dragon's head was conspicuously absent from the circle of his wing.

"Kagome?" Sango asked, fingering the shredded cloth of the front and back of the kimono. The girl winced.

"I- I was out for a walk." She lied, and she felt Inuyasha shift beside her. He knew it was lie, and she could feel the golden eyes on her.

"I got tired quickly, and started to head back, but I tripped and fell over the edge." She continued, ignoring the gasps from Sango and Miroku.

"Inuyasha caught me…" She paused again, knowing this would not explain the tears on both front and back of her kimono.

"His claws were sheathed, though, and he couldn't hang on to the front of my kimono, so he switched claws."

Sango and Miroku nodded, they believed her, and she sighed inwardly. Best that they did, she didn't think Inuyasha would want them to know the truth.

_Let him tell them if he wants, his secrets are his to keep._

"Lets get you two inside, there's a crowd gathering." Miroku whispered, extending a hand towards her, but Sango grabbed his wrist.

"Oh no you don't!" She hissed, "Kirara?"

The little cat demon meowed then got to her feet, transforming in a ball of fire into the large cat shape she and Inuyasha had seen in the forest.

"Get on." Sango motioned with her free hand before giving Miroku's wrist a hard pinch. He winced visibly.

She climbed onto the fire cat's back, clinging to Kirara's white mane, hardly noticing as Sango climbed up behind her, and Kirara rose into the air, flames flickering from her paws, and soared easily over the gathering crowd. Miroku looked after them, and then turned to the bulk of silver scales beside him.

"Guess we have crowd duty, eh?" He jibed, but the dragon unfurled his other wing and flapped, launching himself into the sky, heading in the vague direction Kirara had flown through, but then again that way was to the kitchens too.

"Sango leaves me for Kagome, Inuyasha abandons me…"Miroku grumbled, then took a look at the puzzled warriors, several right out of combat practice. "Right, I'll just take care of crowd duty"

---------

"Okay, now what _really_ happened?" Sango asked, and she jumped.

It was evening, and she was sitting in bed, propped against the pillows, with her back bandaged, and smelling of medicinal herbs. Her chest was only bruised and cut a little, but her back had been scraped roughly.

She blinked back at Sango for a moment.

"I already told you—" She began but Miroku, who was standing right behind Sango, cut her off.

"We know, and that was some quick thinking then, but that was a lie." He said simply.

She stared at them, and they stared back.

"How do you know?" She asked and they glanced at each other, apparently having discussed this already.

"Simple, really." Miroku began, "First of all, you aren't the type to do something foolish such as tiring yourself out on a stroll, after all, you are _her_ reincarnation."

"And, if Inuyasha snagged you from the front of your kimono there shouldn't be bruises on your chest, only on your back, if he caught you late in the fall, and with sheathed claws his grip would have been slowed and the rips in your kimono would be more defined." Sango continued.

"Besides, Inuyasha isn't like a normal dragon. He has four claws, three digits and one thumb, not two that could have shredded the front of your kimono, or the three that shredded the back." Miroku finished, nodding pointedly at her.

"Okay, so I told you a lie, but I can't tell you the truth." She replied, matching them stare for stare. "That's not my story to tell."

"You mean it's mine." Growled a voice, before either Monk or Warrior princess could say another word. Inuyasha's fast emerging head had appeared beyond the tent flaps. A moment later the entire silver dragon had slid into the tent and settled in the cleared corner, closing his eyes. Along with the musk of dragon he bore the slight stench of blood, he had been eating.

"Well Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, turning to the dragon, the rings of his staff jangling together. "What happened last night?"

The dragon eyes flew open and he grumbled, his ears flicking. For a moment his nose quivered then he sighed, sending a waft of warm air through the tent.

"You know half demons have periods of weakness, where their human blood runs stronger. My time's the new moon, but now I revert to a normal dragon's form and mind, take it as you will." He growled, and one by one the two lids, the outer lid and the inner membrane, slid closed over his eyes.

"Two cuts, two fangs… Three scrapes, three claws… It makes sense." Sango muttered.

"So, you couldn't control yourself." Miroku pondered aloud, and the silver dragon's eyes opened again.

"Not like you could do any better, monk. Not you, nor your father, nor your father's father."Inuyasha hissed, glaring, and from the monk's suddenly rigid stance it was apparent that the dragon had struck a nerve.

His right hand tensed, then clenched around the light blue rosary and he opened his mouth as if to speak, then turned and stalked out of the tent. Inuyasha shook his scaly head and with a dismissive sniff closed his eyes again.

"Why the sudden mood swing?" She asked Sango, whose eyes hadn't left the waving tent flap.

"It's not my story to tell-" Sango began, but Inuyasha interrupted her.

"Everyone, besides Kagome, in this entire stronghold knows his story." He hissed, "And if she were to ask anywhere else they'd give her the same answer, now tell her before I do."

Sango shot a glare at the dragon, sighed, and then met Kagome's inquiring eyes.

"He's right, everyone knows why Miroku's hand is like that." The Taijiya admitted, and she nodded, the picture of rapt attention. So many things were being revealed lately, like the curtains being drawn from a window, but there were so many veils left, so many shrouds that did not budge.

"It began with his father's father, his grandfather." Sango continued. "Like Miroku, his grandfather and father were both womanizers. They couldn't resist a pretty face. However, his line still had powerful spiritual powers. Miroku's grandfather had a particular quarrel with one demon in particular, and they were fairly evenly matched. Finally the demon appeared in the form of a beautiful young virgin, and catching the monk by surprise he pierced Miroku's grandfather's palm, cursing the wound to become a fathomless void, one that sucked in all things, even its vessel. When that happened the void would appear again, in the palm of the next generation, dooming the Otoshi line to failure."

"Who was this demon?" She asked, purely out of curiosity, and Inuyasha snorted.

"Naraku, idiot." The dragon snapped. "Haven't you realized it by now?"

"I'd assumed _you_ were asleep." She snapped in return.

"I would be, if you females weren't so chatty."

"Then why did you insist Sango tell me that story?"

"Because otherwise you'd have pestered her into it, taking even longer!"

"Well, what's stopping you from leaving this tent then?"

"Because there's no other place to stay!"

"Then go stay in a god be darned stall!" She cried, and the two glared at each other, panting at the speed of their retorts. Inuyasha lifted his head to speak again but Sango cut him off.

"Done acting like babies? Good, because, Inuyasha, we've got plans to discuss tomorrow and Kagome needs her rest." The warrior demanded, giving them both a level glare before leaving the tent, Kirara at her heels.

"No need to get into a fit." Inuyasha growled after the departing girl, then turned to Kagome. "And you, I didn't know you knew that kind of vocabulary." His tone had changed from sarcasm to amusement.

"Well… I _was_ stuck with you for a few weeks." She replied, breaking off into a yawn.

"Gosh I'm tired, arguing with you really wears a girl out. Goodnight Inuyasha." She mumbled, pulling up the covers, half asleep by the time his voice projected to her ears.

"Night… Kagome."


	12. Chapter 11: A New Mission

**A/N**: Alright, I finally have time to add this little note here. Sorry for the summer delay, I had vacation and was rather busy. Also, I've been working on Heaven's War, but I do have the rest of the chapters for Curse of Dragons planned out and they just need writing up, so updates should be much faster now. School has started, but that shouldn't change much. Christopher Paulini's Eldest has been released, the sequel to Eragon. READ IT!

Also, it appears Chapter 10 received 99 hits... Thanks to the 8 people who took their time to actually review. -.-

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Maiden of the Seven Stars:.**_

* * *

_**.:Chapter 11: A New Mission:.**_

"Sango?" She asked, tentative.

"Yes, Kagome?" The fighter asked, dropping from her ready stance. She had been about to swing Hiraikotsu, but training could wait a minute.

"I really don't think you should go through all the trouble of letting me stay here-" She began, but the warrior stopped her at once.

"Of course we should, you needed a place to rest after what Naraku did you to and-"

"But, Sango! That's the problem, that's all! I feel like I'm just cluttering this place up, draining your supplies!" She insisted.

"Kagome, we're fine, the supply routes are firmly intact, Naraku's been quiet, and we can spare the supplies for you." The warrior insisted in return, lowering Hiraikotsu to her shoulder and putting her free hand on her hip.

"But anyone in Naraku's compound could have seen Inuyasha fly this way, they'll be on to you all because of us!" She said in return, waving off Sango's ready reply. "You're going to fight him eventually, I know, but I still fell like it's my fault! I want to do something about it, to help you!"

Sango glanced at her, seeing the sudden burst of fierce determination in her eyes. _She's serious; she wants to help us… But what can she do?_

"I want to join the Taijiya, I want to fight Naraku." Kagome said, grabbing Sango's wrist.

"Let me, please!"

The warrior stopped, as if determined to speak against her, but at last Sango sighed.

"I don't suppose you're any good with a weapon are you?"

She grinned.

---------

With a yawn she pulled down the covers, slipping out of bed and into the summer sun that poured in through a gap in the tent flap. Inuyasha was long gone, only a small depression in the straw in the corner signifying he had ever been there.

She opened her eyes, then squinted at the sudden light. Was it just her, or was it brighter for some reason?

She yawned, supposing she just wasn't used to the light, and went to grab her training armor from the bed stand. It was of soft, durable leather, looser than normal Taijiya armor, but it was too big for her anyways.

She changed quickly and pulled on the boots she had been giving, but stopping as she tied the laces of her left boot. Was she mistaken? No, her leg… it was glowing.

"The shards…" She cried aloud, she had forgotten about the jewel shards embedded in her leg. But she hadn't seen them glow in a long time, which meant—

"My power's back!" She cried to no one, but it didn't matter. She hadn't felt her sacred power since she and Inuyasha had escaped from Naraku's compound, but she felt it strongly now.

As if in answer to her thoughts the shards in her leg pulsed for a moment then the glow receded and she finished lacing her boots before getting off the bed and heading out of camp, only then realizing she was on edge. It was like something was pulling at the edge of her thoughts, and it was distracting.

She ignored the scent of bread and breakfast wafting around her and focused on the sensation, realizing that it was pulling at her almost. She took a step in the tugged direction and the pull grew a little stronger.

Determined to find out what this was she took off at a quick walk, in a relatively straight path. It looped her through the castle courtyards, before she finally stopped in a large yard before a shrine. She knew the place, it was the shrine that Miroku took care of, but it was off limits to the warriors, except on certain occasions. She assumed the monk slept here as well, since Sango didn't seem like she was going to let him live in any other corner of the stronghold.

She strode up the steps and pushed at the doors. They were unlocked, the Taijiya never locked their doors, and she stepped in, only to find the room empty. It was a large room, but somehow the shrine looked larger from the outside. A gold statue of Buddha was placed in the center and incense and candles burned all around. There were prayer mats on the ground, but other than that the place was rather plain.

"This place is off limits?" She asked to the air, closing the door behind her and stepping up to the statue, offering a quick prayer before looking around. The place was beyond plain; it was dull, though the gold statue was something of value. She closed her eyes, feeling the pulling feeling again, and was sure she had come to the right spot, when a mew jerked her out of her thoughts.

"Wah!" She cried, jumping back into a fighter's stance, but only the two red eyes of Kirara blinked back at her, and the cat mewed questioningly again.

"Oh, it's just you Kirara." She sighed with relief, bending down and scooping the little cat demon in her arms.

"Don't tell anyone I'm here, alright?" She whispered to the cat, giving it a pat on the head, but Kirara slipped out of her arms and scampered across the floor, slipping behind the statue of Buddha.

"Hey!" She called after the cat, running after her, but falling short as she nearly ran into a wall. Where had Kirara gone?

She bent down to look for tunnels, but after a few back aching minutes she gave up. Wherever the cat had gone, she wasn't about to follow.

"I don't see what's so important about this place." She said to the air, leaning back against the wall, only to have it slid away behind her. With a yelp she fell backwards connecting with the hard wooden planks of the floor, hitting her head and watching as all eyes fell on her.

The upside down people glared at her and even Sango and Miroku eyed her strangely. The only person who hadn't glared at her wasn't even a person. Inuyasha, curled in a corner, scales gleaming and with a blood red collar around his neck looked up with a yawn, jaws snapping together as he finished.

"Well that's the most interesting thing that's happened in this stupid meeting. Nice of you to drop in, Kagome."

---------

"You can see the shards?" demanded Yasuri, leader of the fourth and last Taijiya division for what must have been the tenth time, and she nodded, yet again, and a rustle of scales came from her left.

"Put a sock in it, Yasuri. This is a strategic meeting, no time to dote over somebody's newfound talent." Snapped Inuyasha, his words accompanied with a growl.

"This is important!" Snapped the division leader, folding his arms across his chest. He hadn't appreciated the idea of taking orders from a dragon, a dragon! "The decision could affect our entire strategy. With her we can find where Naraku's keeping the shards!"

"You know, she's sitting right across from you." Snarled the dragon, his mug slowly lifting from his forepaws, his tail beginning to weave back and forth. "How will we ever get close enough to Naraku to ever get the shards from him, infiltration takes time!"

"We have spies in any of his standing strongholds-"

"And I doubt they've gotten anywhere at all. You weren't in there, you don't know!"

"And you do, I suppose." Snapped Yasuri, scowling and Inuyasha snapped, sending a waft of hot air through the room. The paper's fluttered but had long since been held down with paperweights.

"You were not held in one of his compounds," Snarled the dragon, his nose stretching over her shoulder and into Yasuri's face.

"You don't have a dragon's nose, you could not smell what I smelled, known what I knew. You did not see Naraku's strongest advisors, you will never know what we are up against!" Roared the dragon, he had gotten to his haunches, sitting, head and shoulders above everyone in the room.

"Those people were not people, they were creatures, creations, and they smelled exactly like Naraku. Those were not people, they were separate entities of the same being, they were Naraku, and _that_ is why we will never get to the shards, Naraku guards them with himself!"

The four leaders and advisors gasped, and Miroku's staff jangled in discord.

"He has made reincarnations of... himself?" The monk asked, and the dragon nodded affirmation.

"There were two, or so I believe." Inuyasha said, his tones conversational again. "There was an advisor… Kagome'll know that one better." He mused then paused, somewhat puzzled.

"There was another too, she was in the fire, and at Naraku's side then as well… but she was… scentless, like the void. I'm sure she was a reincarnation though."

"So it's pointless?" asked Miyazu, third division leader, lifting her eyes from the table before her. The Taijiya were not gender-biased about their warriors.

"Not pointless." Inuyasha sighed. "Just suicidal."

"The point exactly, but still we need to get something done. We need to attempt infiltration, and the girl's the best thing we've got." Yasuri said, and Inuyasha's scales bristled.

She shivered, not liking where the conversation was turning. Yasuri had been staring her dead in the eye this entire time and it sent chills down her spine, and the thought of being sent as a spy… but it was true she was-

"She is not expendable." Snapped the dragon, as if he had read her thoughts. She glanced up at him but he was glaring at Yasuri.

"You're asking to sacrifice the greatest well of Sacred Power alive, would you risk putting that strength into Naraku's hands?"

"What does she do for us here, she is not a fighter, though a decent archer. She has wasted enough of our supplies, and Sacred Power is as dangerous to us as it is to our enemies. We can't keep her around for your own fancies." Yasuri sneered and Inuyasha snarled savagely.

"Take that back, before I rip out your tongue!" He threatened, his neck snaking forwards, but she grabbed at his collar before he could complete the motion.

"Inuyasha, this is not the place nor time for fighting." Snapped Sango, her voice that of a commanding official. "And Yasuri, what you just said was entirely irrelevant to what lies at hand. We have a problem with the sacred jewel shards, we have almost none in our possession and who knows how many Naraku has?"

"Exactly why I should go." Kagome suddenly decided and all heads turned to her.

"Don't even think about it." Snapped Inuyasha, glaring down at her, but she met his gaze with a fierce one of her own.

"You're wrong, I am expendable, because if everything Miroku said was true Naraku just can't kill me. Not if he wants to keep her alive." She said, and the others nodded agreement, even a reluctant Sango and Miroku. They had all be informed of the soul sucking soon after she had arrived at the stronghold.

"Besides, I'll be the only one able to find the shards." She said, and again the others, however reluctantly, nodded.

"You're crazy." Growled Inuyasha, the turning to Miroku, "Tell her she's crazy."

"Kagome," The monk intoned sensibly, "You're crazy… crazy but right."

Inuyasha, who had been nodding in triumph, literally dropped his draconic jowls.

"Lecherous monk…" He grumbled, turning back to Kagome, "You are not-"

"Going to stop her from making her own decisions about her future." Sango said with a sigh, and the dragon glared at her.

"Kagome can decide for herself what she will do with her future, she is not a tool of the Taijiya, to be ordered to do or not do something." Sango continued, "Kagome, do you really want to do this?"

She paused for only a moment, to glance at Inuyasha, but the dragon had pulled his inner membranes over the amber eyes and she couldn't see a thing in them. The membranes had probably been closed the entire time, they just hadn't noticed.

"I'll go, I want to help you… after all, I'm the cause of this problem." She said with a sigh, and most of the assembled council visually started.

All they had known was that a peasant girl had shattered the jewel, none of them had known it was her.

"Should have known, the jewel's practically unbreakable." Miroku said with a smile, he obviously didn't mind that little detail.

"Well, nobody will ever say the Taijiya were an impractical band." Sango said, "We were only focused on getting the shards."

"Then… You aren't angry?" she asked, glancing up at them.

"Well of course not, better Naraku have most of the jewel then all of it, we're glad for a fighting chance." Said a familiar voice, and, surprisingly, it had been Yasuri.

"You're positive about this Kagome?" Sango asked, again, and she nodded.

"Then we'll have to start training you like a spy should be trained, archery will get you nowhere when you're sneaking around." Miroku said simply, "We'll get you started in the morning, it's best that we leave for an evening meal now." He said and got to his feet, dusting his robes.

"How do you know it's that late?" One of the division leaders asked, and the monk chuckled.

"My stomach's roaring." He said and opened the secret doorway, and the council members began filing out, but none could beat the silver dragon out the doorway.

* * *

**A/N**: -.-


	13. Chapter 12: The Beginning of the End

**A/N**: Thanks again to all the awesome reviewers, you rock! This chapter's a bit short, and the title's a bit cliche. I did promise faster updates, though, didn't I? I've got the chapters planned now right up to the end, I just have to write it all.

I thought it would be interesting toreveal the hit-review ratio again. It's around 140: 13 or so for chapter 11. That's a whole .01 increase from the last chapter!

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Maiden of the Seven Stars:.**_

* * *

_**.:Chapter 12: The Beginning of the End:.**_

"Finally, a little privacy!" She sighed, dropping to the ground, only causing her sore bottom to ache even more. She groaned, about to get up again and find a softer patch of grass, but her legs ached about as much as her bottom so she flopped back down on the ground.

It had been a long day; no it had been a long month. A month of almost non-stop training, a good eleven hours a day for the past month, full of unrelenting training for her self-proclaimed mission. She had been taught the tricks of spying, step-by-step, rule-by-rule, and boy there were a lot of them. It wasn't so simply sneak in, get in the information and then sneak out. Who knew there was an art to it? She did, now anyways.

Every morning she was awakened to lessons in etiquette and respect in a compound or lord's chambers. She had to memorize how every social class acted and what their duties were, incase she found herself in that position. Who to loathe, whom to fear, whom to order about, whom to obey, she learned it all. Incredibly boring, but necessary, and Sango and Miroku insisted upon every last bit of the education. They wouldn't let her even try to find Naraku's shards without it, and she knew better than to argue.

And so her day would continue into current education. She learned about the government, the balances of power. She learned whom Naraku favored and who was looking downhill, who deserved first dibs on a servant and who was only second best. She learned important names, those who she should gain the favor of, those whose influence would do her no good, and then… she learned about… well… stuff.

She could tell anyone about anything recently, the slightest shift of power, which kimono's the ladies in the high court would wear, which dancers were the best to have at as entertainment. She learned how to cook anything, how peel potatoes quickly, how to carry trays stacked with dishes and not spill a single one. She even knew if a tomato was a fruit or a vegetable.

Then came the real test of her abilities. She would be sent to a 'hostile building' a secluded area of the stronghold. There she'd been taught how to sneak, what to listen for, how to feel vibrations through the floorboards, tell what sort of step would make something creak, if a door would sound if she opened it. She learned how to undo knots of any sort and tie the up again as she had untangle them, how to make key moulds, the list had no end. Even she didn't remember the extent of what she had learned then.

Needless to say, she was mentally exhausted by the time physical training rolled around. She was taught hand to hand, and with little weapons such as a kitchen bowl or stones. Just in case she was caught, she'd need to be able to fend for herself for a time. She had been an utter failure in this part of her lessons, and would go to bed black and blue. The days had been long and hard, and filled with the most tangible stress she had ever been under.

And through it all, Inuyasha hadn't said more than a sentence to her, which mainly included something such as 'out of the way'. The new moon had come and gone, but the silver dragon had remained aloof and it… well, strangely, it hurt.

And now, she felt as if her stomach had been torn out of her, folded into the shape of a paper crane, and then stuffed back in. She was so filled with anxiety; she had left the stronghold for the sanctuary of the forest backdrop. Today had been the last day of training; tomorrow she would leave for Naraku's new main dragon compound, which also included a rather lordly estate. Today had been her 'examination' to make sure she had passed, and she had… and now the stress level mounted even higher.

She knew she had to leave, she was the only one fit for the job, but she didn't want to leave the sanctuary of the Taijiya. She would miss them, and she might never even see them again. Ever. She was nervous, she was stressed, but she was scared most of all. She was about to go behind enemy lines, work on the inside instead of out here, and she did not really want to leave. She had to, and she would go because she needed to leave, but she didn't want to. She just wanted it all to end, she wanted to live simply again, without the jewel, without Naraku. She guessed she just wanted some peace. Peace in mind, peace in spirit, peace in the world.

"Why can't it all just go away?" She moaned aloud. "Why do we have to fight?" She cried to night sky, and the words echoed back to her.

"Why? Because we can't live in a perfect world." Said a voice above her, and she turned to see the silver dragon's head gazing back at her, the long silver snout resting on his forepaws.

"There is good, and there is evil, there is light and there is shadow, but can't you see?" He asked, gazing up at the sky. "One cannot exist without the other. Without one, the other becomes nothing, because there is nothing to compare it to. Good is… well… better than evil, but without something to be better than, what makes good so desirable?"

She stared at him for a long while. The amber dragon eyes stared up at the sky, before finally turning back to her.

"That was probably the most idiotic thing I've ever said." He growled, but she shook her head.

"No, it makes sense. If there's no light, then what can be called dark? In the night it is darker than the day, and so we call it dark, but if there was no day we'd have nothing to compare the night's light to." She said, smiling. He gave her a teasing glare.

"So what are you doing out here anyways?" He asked.

"I'd ask you the same thing." She replied, and he groaned.

"Trust you to say that." He growled. "I'm out here because I'm sick of the stronghold, it's as if everyone's holding their breath in there, it's suffocating." He paused for a moment. "They're all going to choke one day." He said at last. It was a decent metaphor.

"I couldn't take it either, at least you could get out. I was stuck there, training." She said, unable to help adding a complaint to her voice, and the dragon shifted, glancing away in silence.

"Are you mad at me?" She finally asked, after the silence dragged out, and with a sigh she sat up, crawling over to his scaled neck.

"No… I'm not." The dragon replied, his words slow and careful. "I just…" and he cut off again, unable to find the right thing to say.

"I just… hate worrying." He said at last, not meeting her eyes, but his words had said enough. He didn't want her to go, he didn't want to have to worry for her. He wanted her to be safe, out of harm's way. He didn't want to put her in danger, he cared for her, and she was touched.

"We can't just let him get away with it though, we can't let him get the rest of the jewel." She said. "We can't let him control the dragons anymore."

"I know…" Inuyasha said with a sigh, lifting his head up to look at the sky. "I just…" He paused, yet again, searching for the words.

"There are some things in this world you'd be better off not knowing." He said, sighing. He was worried, his scales were shaking ever so slightly, just so they barely distorted the moonlight, and suddenly she bent forwards and pulled the warm silver neck into a tight hug.

"Stop worrying about me, I'll keep myself out of trouble." She whispered into the smooth scales.

"That's what I'm worried about." Inuyasha grumbled, but he swung his head around to rest on her back, his chin pushing her gently closer to him, closing his eyes.

She didn't know how they sat there in silence, wrapped in the strange embrace, but finally the gentle weight on her back lifted.

"It's late, you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow." Inuyasha finally said, standing up slowly and slipping his neck from her grasp, however reluctantly.

She glanced behind her, standing up with the help of an offered fore claw, and saw that the sun, which had still touched the sky when she had started talking to Inuyasha, had long set.

"How far are we from the stronghold?" She asked, worried.

"Farther than you think, it'll be at least twenty minutes before I walk back." Inuyasha chuckled, she glared at him, trying to slap him on the snout but he dodged deftly.

"You're not helping, I'm stressed enough as it is." She snapped, turning in the direction she had come, but Inuyasha turned in the opposite direction.

"Where are you-" She started to ask, but the silver dragon had spread his wings, shaking them thoroughly.

"Come on, you want to get back quickly, don't you?" He asked, his neck arched and glancing back at her.

"But, I thought you couldn't ride without a saddle." She protested. The Taijiya didn't have dragon saddles; they had no dragons to saddle in the first place.

"Those dolts who invented that law were riding dragons, not me." He snapped, "Just get on and keep your legs out of my way."

She paused for a moment, and the dragon flicked his tail in impatience, but finally she strode up to his back, ducked under a wing, and climbed up to the hollow where his neck joined his back, right where the saddle had gone.

Scared, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he turned back to her.

"Don't choke me, or I'll throw you off." He snapped, but before she could respond he extended his wings and leaned backwards into the ground, braced on his hind legs.

He reared up, his wings spread, and they beat once… twice, gathering air beneath their leathery membranes. He ducked down for a moment, touching his fore claws to the ground, and timed with the next downbeat he threw himself into the sky.

She couldn't help it, she cried out and squeezed her eyes shut, suddenly wishing she had decided to walk back as the dragon began the dizzying process of gaining altitude. When his wings beat down, they leapt up into the sky, but as his wings prepared to push off again they slipped back down at stomach jolting speed. Up and down they bobbed, and she felt sick, seriously wishing she had something besides air between her and the ground. Well, there was something, the silver dragon.

"Open your eyes." Inuyasha ordered as they finally leveled out and the jolting movements stopped.

"Open your eyes." He snapped again, and she knew he was looking back at her.

Slowly she opened her eyes, tilting her head upwards so she didn't see the ground, and instead met the gold dragon eyes. She could have sworn the dragon was grinning in the dark.

"Wimp." The dragon taunted, beating upwards again, but this time she kept her eyes open. It was less nauseating that way.

"I dare you to look down." The dragon said, his tone jeering, but she shook her head.

"No way." She said, defiantly, and the dragon chucked, suddenly tilting downwards and folding his wings, causing her to scream as the wind picked up in their faces.

"Inuyasha!" She shouted, slapping his neck, but his wings had snapped out again and he was soaring slightly downwards, giving her an amazing view of the land. She could see the lights of the Taijiya stronghold, which was actually a lot closer than Inuyasha had said, and the nearby mountains and the lake, and in the moonlight it was breathtaking.

Slowly, Inuyasha leveled out slightly and began to circle, giving her the best view, and she couldn't help but smile. The wind blew at her freed hair, whipping it about her face, but her eyes were mesmerized. It was as if she, herself, were flying, and the feeling washed all of her worries away. There was nothing but her and the sky; she was free as the wind, literally. She felt weightless, and for the first time in a while she was happy again.

At last the dragon slanted downwards, leveling out and drifting, slowly losing altitude. His hind legs faced the ground and stretched out as the Taijiya path came closer. She recognized her own tent, the same tent she had lived in when they had first arrived.

The distance between the ground and them was shrinking, and Inuyasha began to beat his wings slowly and lightly, slowing their descent until his hind legs touched the ground. With a quick easy movement his wings furled and his forelegs hit the ground, the joints locked and absorbing the like shock that followed the movement.

After a moments pause he lifted his right foreleg, the one nearest the tent door, and she took that as a sign to leave. She slipped down, landing lightly on his held up leg, and dropped to the ground. Inuyasha turned towards her, his neck arched and snout hovering over eye level, waiting for her to go in.

"Aren't you going to stay the night?" She asked, but he shook his snout.

"I told you, I don't like it here." He said and she sighed, she had wished he was going to stay, but given the freedom to escape she would have left for the night as well.

"I'll miss you, Inuyasha." She said, reaching up and hugging the dragon's long snout to her chest.

"I'll miss you, too." Inuyasha replied, then sighed and lifted his head from her hands.

Turning he extended his wings again and launched into the sky, sparing only one backwards glance with gleaming amber eyes, and then the silver dragon disappeared into the night sky. That was when she realized what his plan had been.

The stronghold had been much closer than he had said, she knew it hadn't taken her that long to walk to where they had met, and Inuyasha would have known that. He had lied to her, in order to get her on his back and into the sky. But why?

The answer was simple; he hadn't wanted her to worry. He had wanted her to relax, albeit being scared out of her wits, but relaxed nonetheless, and in those few minutes the anxiety she had been surrounded in had melted away.

"Thank you Inuyasha," She whispered into the night.

"Thank you for everything."

---------

They had awoken early, a small traveling party she was to be leaving with. They were spies from her designated compound, having left under the alibi of trading some goods to a more remote part of the lands.

They had packed plenty, having had the luxury of a wagon, which she would be riding in since they couldn't come back with an extra horse. She was, supposedly, a country girl who had been sent away by her family in hopes that she would no longer be a burden for them, and the traveling party had picked her up since she had had a knack for cooking.

A cleverly woven tale, she just hoped it would hold.

She stood by the south gates, in the large entrance grounds, near where the wagon stood, the two oxen that would pull it refreshed and ready for the road. The supplies were nearly done being loaded, the two spies saying farewell to their families, perhaps for the last time.

She had already said her goodbyes to Sango and Miroku. They had been sorrowful, but they hadn't opposed her ideals but had drawn her aside, handing her an arrow.

"One of Kikyo's, it has slain fourty-nine dragons." Sango had said. "We name our weapons after their fiftieth slaying, but Kikyo never managed to do that."

"Perhaps it'll help you, though, this arrow always flew true." Miroku had added with a smile, and she found herself smiling back.

"Oh, and I had Miroku and his not so lecherous under-monks enchant this for you." Sango added, handing her a rosary. It was made up of mainly brown beads, with an occasional white tooth-like something.

"Those are dog-demon fangs." Sango whispered, "the rosary was once Inuyasha's, but we don't know what it really did for him. However, if you really need us, in an emergency, break the rosary and we'll come."

Now she clutched the arrow and rosary in her hands looking upwards, in hopes for the silver dragon, but she only hurt her eyes in the sun's glare. Perhaps the dragon wasn't coming, perhaps Inuyasha had meant last night to be a good bye, but she'd like to see him again. Just once.

As if summoned by her thoughts, a shadow suddenly passed overhead. She looked up, glancing at the distant underside of the silver dragon as he swooped overhead. He tilted and circled for a moment, swooping lower, and she could see his amber eyes. They were sorrowful.

"Inuyasha?" She asked, but her voice was lost in the wind as the dragon swooped just overhead. She could have sworn she heard his voice, soft but comforting.

"Take care, Kagome." The dragon murmured, before beating his wings and heading off into the skies again.

Down on the ground she stared back up at him, and when he disappeared she glanced down at the ground, where his going away present still rested where it had been dropped.

She bent over the shining silver scale, scooping it up with both hands. It was still warm, and would forever be. A gift given away by a dragon's own free will, it had been said, was somewhat magical. A small hole had been drilled at one end, and a leather cord carefully looped through that. He must have done it himself; little could pierce dragon scale so cleanly except another dragon claw.

Smiling she pressed the scale to her heart, then, looping the cord over her head she climbed into the wagon, waving at Sango and Miroku as they drove out the gates.

---------

From the darkness of his private chambers lord Naraku smirked as he saw the departing wagon in Kanna's mirror. She was in there, the one who carried Kikyo's soul. The one who could see the shards was in that wagon.

"Your soul is coming." He said to the woman who stood behind him, and she smirked.

"She's the last thing we need, this Kagome. With her we'll find the last shards and then we'll bring the Taijiya to their knees." She said with an icy chuckle.

"Yes…" Naraku agreed, opening his closed hand and revealing a round, light pink gem. It was nearly complete.

"It has finally begun."

It was the nearly completed Shikon Jewel. The jewel that glowed with a tainted aura, the jewel that needed only three more fragments to become whole again, three fragments that were fast approaching.

It was the beginning, the beginning of the end.

* * *

**A/N**: And here I will actually respond to the few amount of reviews I have, there's plenty of room.

**Dragon Man 180**: I know you, you've been with me all the way, haven't you? Thanks! Unfortuanetly, Shippo and Rin were minor characters so you can guess the rest.

**Angel-Tears-16**: Yes, it's nearing the end now. Thanks for your concern and reviewing!

**MikaSong**: Aha! But she doesn't _know_ she's the heroine!

**Red RoseDragon:** Grammar? x...X I'm really going to fail my SATs.

**Neko-Yuff16**: 16's a popular number, no? I remember you too! Thanks for sticking with me. Of course Inuyasha's concerned after all...

**Lady Katreina**: I completely agree! I hate Galbatorix!

**Shaid**: Soon enough? So, were your predictions accurate? I always like to know.

And to everyone else, priestessmykala, anonymous, kittencutie, animedorkette, and Snow Lepord, thank you all very much for reviewing!.

**To Come**:

"I want to go home." She moaned as the opened the door to her dorm.

...time was not on her side

"I need your soul alive, but I can put you in a dragon's shell."

The sun was setting fast, but there was no moon in the sky.


	14. Chapter 13: End of Time

**A/N:** Hello again, I believe it's been two weeks, but this is faster than my other updates, no? Anyways, this one took me a while to write, and I ended up combining two chapters because 1. I love my reviewers to death and the hit: review ratio is much better now, thank you all again. 2. I just couldn't think of another title for this one, so I used the second one. Eitherway, be happy, the story is finally concluding.

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Maiden of the Seven Stars:.**_

* * *

_**.:Chapter 13: End of Time:.**_

She quickly finished chopping the last of the carrots, adding them to the cook's massive kettle of stew, and stepped back with a sigh. The stew would feed all of the servants and maids, like her. She'd do good to make the stew as well as she could, else she'd have to deal with food that was less then satisfying. Naraku's headquarters operated that way. Workers did work that affected themselves. If they wanted good food, they made it good.

She cleaned the knife she had been using and replaced it in the rack. She then grabbed a bowl from the large stacks and joined in the fast growing line. Carrots, the last ingredient, didn't take long to cook, and the cook, Oswara, had already taken her place behind the stewpot. She, with her long ladle, spooned out a large portion of stew into her own bowl, quickly gulping it down. The rest of the servants were forced to watch as three ladles of their evening meal was downed, though Oswara was fat enough as it was, before the line finally began to move.

She filled her bowl and took a seat at one of the tables, starting a chat with some of the other maids, but she wasn't focused on any of it. The food, the laughter, the room, it all disappeared in her mind, she could only think of her mission.

She had arrived a week ago and had quickly settled in as a scullery maid, only to work her way up to a regular maid. She now cleaned out the rooms on occasion, a task she had been taught to do well at the Taijiya stronghold. Today was one of the few nights she had cooking duty, which all of the maids, except the palace maids, shared.

She had to keep working at it, to work her way up to the position of the palace maid. Only then would she be allowed up to the main complex, and near Naraku's rooms. She hadn't been able to find out anything yet, and though the Taijiya hadn't wanted to put pressure on her, the spies would head back to the stronghold with the alibi of trading within the next week. When that happened, she'd have to wait another two weeks just to have contact with the spies.

"Kyoko?" asked a voice to her right, and it took her a moment to remember that that was supposed to be her. She was under the name of Kyoko.

"Yeah?" she replied, turning to see one of her fellow maids looking back at her, puzzled.

"You seem stressed." The maid commented, and she cringed inwardly. Had she been so obvious? She'd have to be more careful, or the maids would suspect something was up.

"No no, I'm just fine!" she said with a smile, but when the maid stared back at her wryly she sighed, stirring the last of her stew with her spoon to give herself time to come up with an excuse.

"It's just…. I'm really nervous." She started with a sigh, and the other girls stared back at her, waiting.

"My parents made such a huge deal about me coming to be a maid, and they all want me to be a palace maid and…" she bit her lip and flushed, hoping her excuse would work. Thankfully, the girls seemed to understand.

"Oh, Kyoko, you're a great maid!" cried one, patting her arm.

"I'm sure you'll be promoted really soon, and then your parents will be really proud of it!" chimed another, smiling.

"I'm getting promoted soon, I'll recommend you!" said another, and Kagome could have kissed her.

"You will?" she asked, her eyes lighting up. This could be her big chance; she could be in and out with the Taijiya spies…

"Yeah, this weekend! I'll be sure to mention you." She said, squealing happily, and the girls quickly swarmed over her, leaving Kagome to clean up her bowl and set it in the wash basin before heading back to her room, her hopes diminished.

The spies would be gone, and she would be stranded here for two weeks, two terrifying weeks that would spell disaster for her if she were caught. As her hands often did when she thought of this, they groped towards her neck, under her uniform, and clutched the two safeguards that hung there. One weaved into the beads of the rosary; the other clutched the silver dragon's scale.

"I want to go home." She moaned as the opened the door to her dorm. She strode quickly to her bed and slid into it, curling into a ball.

"Let this end…. Let this end!" she pleaded, pressing the two necklaces to her lips.

Not so far away, in the highest tower of the palace, two other beings wished the same thing.

------

It was a week and a half later when she finally became a palace maid. She got lucky and was positioned particularly close to Naraku's rooms, and she was given plenty of opportunities to sneak around and get information. Unfortunately, the Taijiya spies had left, and with that a sense of danger and fear had risen in her. They had wished her luck and smiled confidently, but when the two drove off, their wagon jostling gently along the road, it was the most disheartening sight she had ever seen. She wanted to go back; she wanted to go home.

It was only when she received a note at the foot of her bed to not air out the rooms in the morning did she realize that time was not on her side. Fall was starting to set in, and the trading would end now, simply because the weather would be bad and the traders would go home to their families. This visit from the Taijiya in another week would be their last, and then she'd have to wait through the entire winter. She could not take that.

Her mind made up, that night she got out of bed. She had wanted to take a knife with her, just in case, but she found herself lacking that, so she pulled out Kikyo's arrow and slipped it and it's little quiver down her back. Without bothering to light a candle, she crept carefully to the room of the head maid and pawned the key to Naraku's chambers. She had done this before, but that was when she had actually been cleaning. Now she was on Taijiya business, and she hoped to god she was not caught.

She slid the key into Naraku's doorway, twisting it slowly in the keyhole. The door swung open on greased hinges and she tiptoed forwards. Naraku was not in his bed, he probably never was. He was always in that strange room, the one that was always kept under lock and key. It was on the east side of his room, and she turned towards it.

There was a crack of light between the doors, and she saw they were partially open. Voices murmured on the other side, and she leant forwards to listen.

"I swear, I don't see why we don't just rush in and take the shards from her!" snapped a woman, her voice hot with objection.

"Patience, Kagura, you must have patience." A voice hissed, in a long, slow, drawl.

"I don't see how you keep incarnations, Naraku." Said another voice, cold, emotionless, and dripping with acid. Kagome barely heard the voice though. She only heard one word.

He was using incarnations! That was an evil art, splitting your soul to make other selves. His power must be massive, if Naraku was using incarnations!

"They're powerful, and it's an… intoxicating feeling, to hold someone's soul in your hands." Naraku sneered in return, and there was a furious yelp from the other female. Two cold voices laughed in contempt, and someone rose to their feet.

Sensing someone was emerging, and cursing that she hadn't discovered anything, she backed away quickly and turned towards the door, starting to run out, when she paused. Standing in the doorway, staring back at her with empty eyes, was a little girl.

She was the palest thing Kagome had ever seen, and wore clothes of nearly the same shade. Her face was blank, devoid of any emotion, but as Kagome watched her eyes glanced down towards the mirror, as if wondering what it was, or wondering what to do.

"Quick, get out!" Kagome hissed, waving her hand, but in the middle of that motion her found she could not move it anymore. She glanced towards the girl, who was staring straight at her, and tried to speak, but she couldn't move. She saw the light along the floor, and heard the doors open.

She was caught.

"Kanna, let her go." Hissed a voice with a malicious satisfaction. Kanna, the little girl, obliged and moved the mirror again, letting Kagome fall to the floor in surprise.

At once, she rolled over and tried to cover her face, curling into a ball on her knees, but a hand grabbed her hair and pulled upwards. With a yelp, she looked up into a face identical to her own, and the resemblance shocked her. Could this be Kikyo?

"See, Kikyo? Incarnation's do have their uses." Naraku hissed behind her, the pale little girl suddenly at his side. Kikyo said nothing, peering into Kagome's face.

"What an ugly little child, how did you ever get my soul?" she asked, her eyes narrowing into a glare.

"We look exactly the same!" Kagome snapped in hate, and Kikyo laughed.

"That vanity is a new feature, but I see my reputation precedes me." The woman continued, "What lies have those fools been poisoning my soul with? Hmm?"

She snapped her mouth shut and glared back into Kikyo's stony brown eyes, refusing to answer, and her previous self laughed in return.

"No matter, you're going to die anyways." The woman said easily, raising her hand and striking Kagome on the temple. Black spots danced across her vision as Kikyo raised her hand to strike again.

Kikyo laughed, and the world went black.

---------

"Wake up, you little wench." Snapped a voice, and Kagome's subconscious stirred. What was she doing here? Who was this voice? What on— she was going to be late for work!

At the last thought she jolted awake, her eyes snapping open. If she was late, if she was fired, if she messed up the Taijiya might never get another chance to strike! At once, she leapt to her feet… or tried.

She was bound to a chair, ropes tied around her upper arms, her wrists bound behind the chair back. Her ankles were also bound beneath her, and as she tried to bolt up the chair rocked forwards violently. Only the pale hand that pushed her shoulder back kept her from toppling forwards, but the words of thanks quickly died on her lips.

That hand was Kikyo's.

Her memory flooded back, Naraku's incarnations, the secret plan, and her former-self standing in front of her. She was sitting in the great hall, or what she supposed was the great hall. It looked like a hall, but it was curiously familiar. Why, the design was the same as that first hall, so many days ago, when she had first been sentenced to be Inuyasha's dragongirl. Odd, she had never seen this hall in the palace before.

She looked to both sides, quickly, for any windows, but solid grey walls were the only things that met her probing eyes. Spider marked banners hung along them, a red spider silhouette emblazoned into a dark purple background, with decorative gold trim. On the spider's abdomen was an eye, and eye that seemed to watch her eerily. Kikyo chuckled.

"Those banners will hang from every building all over the world, when Naraku is through." Kikyo sneered, waving towards one of them. "We will crush any idea of rebellion, and establish Naraku's permanent place at the throne." The priestess's icy brown eyes bored into Kagome's own, shining with malicious light. "Naraku's era of tyranny will begin, and it will never end."

"Whatever you're planning, it'll never work!" she cried valiantly, struggling against her bonds, and Kikyo laughed.

"The classic line of a hero facing the inevitable." She said, when the cruel laughter had died.

Kagome didn't respond, not because she was robbed of words, but because she had felt the ropes around her wrists weaken—slightly.

"You look so defeated." Kikyo murmured, "Why don't I tell you what we're planning?"

"You'll regret it!" Kagome hissed, her gaze snapping back up. Her hands were busy trying to loosen the ropes around them.

"I doubt it." Kikyo sneered, her lips pulling into a smirk. "It will be delightful, seeing the look of horror and despair in your eyes." With that, she strode towards the near end of the room. Now that Kagome's view was unblocked, she could see steps leading up to a platform, behind which a golden throne sat, blood red stones set in the metal. Behind the throne hung a massive tapestry of a spider's web on purple fabric, the crimson spider in the middle, above the crown. The evil eye stared back at her, and she met its stare defiantly.

However, it was what stood before the throne that caught her eye. A small table stood there, with a tall red candle burning on both ends. In the middle was a golden dish, in which a red liquid barely rippled, and in a small stand above the dish, resting in a handkerchief of white silk, was a nearly whole shikon jewel. Even from the center of the room, Kagome could feel its taint.

"You know what this is, I presume." Kikyo began, standing behind the table, her face illuminated by candlelight in the fast fading light. The only window in the entire room was above the little table, a round hole in the roof with a line stretching out down the hall, filled with glass. The candles burned brightly, and the glass glowed orange.

She didn't respond, but Kikyo continued anyways.

"The Jewel of Four Souls is nearly whole, we're only missing three shards." Kikyo explained, and Kagome was shocked. But… the Taijiya!

"What about the shards guarded by the Taijiya!" She couldn't help but cry aloud.

"We stole them, not too long ago." Kikyo replied, with a smirk. "The entire camp was in an uproar. Now, will you let me elaborate?"

Kagome was silent, her wrists struggling with renewed vigor.

"Now, you know the power of the jewel: It will grant anything the beholder desires, if used the right way." Kikyo continued, "At midnight, which fast approaches, I will activate the jewel and make my wish."

"What? You're going to wish for your soul back?" Kagome snapped.

"No," Kikyo replied, her voice sharp, "You stupid girl, if you had never been born it might have been possible, but you have sealed your own fate. I am tied to you, bound to your life." Kikyo paused for a moment, considering. "I _am_ you."

Kagome stopped in her attempt to break free, her eyes widening in surprise.

"I am _nothing _like you!" she cried, "We may share the same soul, but I am _nothing_ like you!" but Kikyo shrugged and glanced back down at the jewel.

"Continuing on," the priestess continued, "My wish will require a power beyond the jewel itself, I will tame the power of creation."

"The what?"

"I will use the power of Nature, as well as the jewel, to ensure the world is forever under my control!" Kikyo replied, "I'm going to wish that the empire, young and old, will be turned into dragons. I will sacrifice their flesh, blood, and souls to turn them into dragons for now and forever, and when that happens, the dragons will control this world with an iron fist! I may have failed once before, but not this time." At this, her own hand clenched into a fist and she held it before her, triumphantly.

"And you, my little soul," Kikyo continued, starting back towards the chair. "You will be first."

"I thought you needed me alive!" Kagome snapped, squirming.

"I need your soul alive, but I can put you in a dragon's shell." Kikyo responded smoothly, sinisterly.

Kagome was staring at her former self in horror, her hands twisting blindly behind her. The dragons… they needed something more than simply herbs and spells to create. They required human lives! No… they were human lives! Humans turned into dragons, and then forced into the life of animals, controlled by this horrid woman! Hate coursed through her blood.

"Oh, you will wish you were dead, my dear." Kikyo whispered, "After what you will go through, after what you will see, after—what _are_ you doing?"

Kagome had finally broken free of the bonds around her wrists. At once, her hands reached towards her neck, moving under her shirt and grabbing the rosary Miroku and Sango had given her. She held it in her hands, and she started to smile.

"The Taijiya will stop you, you'll never get away with this!" she cried, valiantly, and tugged at the string of beads. The rosary broke, brown, black, and white beads clattering to the floor.

Kikyo stared at the small, rolling spheres, watching them calmly… too calmly. And then she laughed that horrible cold laugh.

"You really never do give up." She sneered, "But the Taijiya are quite far away , they can not make it before midnight.

"Inuyasha will come, the silver dragon will stop you!" Kagome snapped in return, refusing to be ruffled, but Kikyo's triumphant gaze was doing just that.

"My dear, I know Inuyasha, and I know his secrets," Kikyo hissed, "He will not come, he can't come, look to the sky."

Kagome looked up, and she would have swallowed her tongue if she could.

The sun was setting fast, but there was no moon in the sky.

---------

A roar echoed through the air above the Taijiya stronghold, a mighty throaty roar of challenge. It was a battle cry. Warriors and monks, children and wives, all paused in what they were doing. From the training grounds, a cat demon rose to the sky, two people on its back, flying towards the shrine.

The silver dragon had been lying outside the building leisurely, his snout resting on the open window ledge. He had been snoozing, one golden eye half open and watching the pedestal. On the pedestal, a stand held a rosary of brown, black, and white beads. He had been watching it every second that he could, waiting, ready to sound the warning. Finally, it had broken, beads rolling to the floor.

"Inuyasha-!" Miroku cried as Kirara circled above. The silver dragon had reared up, its wings unfurled and beating. His scales stood on end, his tail whipping behind him. Dust scattered as he beat his wings impatiently and his neck arched in ferocity.

"It's broken!" Inuyasha roared, "She broke it! Let's go!" He beat his wings again, but Kirara was landing and, sadly, he lowered them angrily.

"What are we waiting for?" He demanded, scratching at the cobblestones beneath him with a claw.

"The Taijiya are being assembled, we are ready for war." Sango replied, "But-"

"But what?" Inuyasha demanded, but the warrior was silent. "Kagome needs us!"

"We're leaving, but you can't." Miroku said and his golden staff rose defensively. Inuyasha had snapped at him, his fangs dangerously close to the black haired monk.

"You know what tonight is," Miroku snapped, his patience lost in a time of crisis, "It's the new moon!"

Inuyasha paused, then glanced towards the east. Not even a sliver of silver was visible in the cloudless sky.

A horrible roar of anguish echoed across the land and those nearby clapped their hands over their ears to stop the terrible sound.

---------

Kikyo laughed, returning to the jewel, after rebinding Kagome's wrists.

"He will come," Kagome cried, desperately, "Inuyasha will move mountains to stop you!"

"I have no doubt that Inuyasha could move mountains, should he try." Kikyo murmured, "But not tonight."

She reached behind the golden plate, picking up a silver, sickle shaped, object. It was a knife.

"You're out of time."

* * *

**A/N: **Well? Tell me what you think.

Deadly Crimson: Thanks for the 13 reviews, it really motivates me. I think my eyes popped out when I saw the 13 new messages in my e-mail.

Lady Katreina: Sorry, but being a dragon is a very cruel fate and I can't do that to our heroine, can I?

Myinuyasha04: I want one too! -steals Inuyasha-

MoonGirl19: Nice guess, did I leave so many hints? -checks-

Angel-Tears-16: The ending won't be as horribly bitter-sweet-going-to-write-a-sequal-or-try-to as Forgotten Freedom's, but I think it is a bit bitter. I never do really intense romances, it's always just enough to be noticed. I shouldn't really classify the story as romance, but there is some.

Red RoseDragon: Well, considering when I started this story... Yup, I liked my ending too, though I had to rewrite it at least three times. I had to add an arrow, and then a rosary, and then Inuyasha's little blessing.

Dragon Man180: Sorry, but that arrow's not going to get Naraku, though it does set Kanna on fire, if that makes you happy. No, the arrow has a much greater purpose. Can you guess?

And now I'll stop replying to review because I'll never be able to get the chapter up if I do. Thanks again, all of you.


	15. Chapter 14: End of Dragons

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Maiden of the Seven Stars:.**_

* * *

_**.:Chapter 14: End of Dragons:.**_

She could not believe it would end this way, with Kikyo winning, but right now it was hard to even think straight. There was a horrible pain in her leg, where Kikyo had cut out the jewel shards. She had done it quickly, and then sealed the wound, but it still hurt beyond belief.

Even though black fuzzed at the edges of her vision, but she could still see. Kikyo was standing at the alter, the jewel in her hands. The three shards she had pulled from Kagome's leg fusing into the jewel, to make it whole once more.

The priestess smiled as she saw Kagome's horrified glare, and wondered how the wench could still remain so defiant.

"You're clutching at straws, girl, nobody can stop me." She sneered, and the jewel glowed with a tainted aura.

"It's not midnight yet!" Kagome snapped in return, but the hope in the words was futile. Midnight may not be here yet, but it would come, and when it came nothing would stop the end… unless.

Her feet were unbound, and so were her wrists. Suddenly a plan formed in her head and she reached behind her, thanking Sango for teaching her how to untie a multitude of knots. She only needed a few more moments and—

"What are you doing, wench?" Kikyo cried, raising the jewel, but Kagome was free.

At once she pulled out the arrow she had hidden under her kimono and pointed it at her neck, smirking.

"If you dare…" she started, threateningly, knowing she had the upper hand, but Kikyo simply laughed.

A colder, crueler laugh joined hers. The tapestry behind the throne parted, and suddenly Naraku was in the room as well. He was wearing the white baboon's skin pelt, its masked head draped over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed menacingly.

"Dear, you're sadly mistaken." Kikyo laughed.

"Even if you did kill yourself, I will finish what Kikyo started." Naraku sneered, sliding into the throne's lavish cushioning.

Kagome refused to be shaken, instead taking the arrow and pointing it towards the evil pair. A pink-violet glow sprang from its tip.

"Then I'll burn this place down, and the Jewel with it!" she declared, but the two were laughing again.

"You will use my own power against me?" Kikyo asked, "Clever, but you arenothing but a fool. You may have my power, but I hold the Shikon no Tama. Give it up, it is hopeless."

The glow around the arrow died, as she comprehended the situation. There was no way out, Kikyo was going win.

"It is nearly time." Naraku hissed, waving an arm leisurely. A barrier sprang up between the two opposing women, and Kikyo turned back to the alter, replacing the Jewel in it's dish. Leaning to each side, she blew out the candles, and darkness fell on them all.

_This cannot be, this cannot be!_ Kagome cried in her mind, staring up at the dark sky. _I will not let this happen, there has to be a way!_

"Inuyasha!" she cried, as a last resort, and suddenly the room wasn't so dark anymore.

A faint silver glow was pulsing under her robe. The two evildoers stared as Kagome pulled out the dragon's scale that hung around her neck. Its silver hue had faded to black, but it still glowed with silver light, like a beacon of hope, and suddenly she had faith again.

"This isn't over, you will never win!" She cried, defiantly, and the glowing silver shape of a dragon swooped overhead. A mighty roar echoed through the night, a battle cry; a summons.

"Fool, he cannot penetrate these walls! They are dragon proofed." Kikyo snapped, unruffled.

"Inuyasha is no dragon!"Kagome snapped, and Inuyasha roared again. His glow disappeared for a moment, and then grew in strength as the dragon smashed into the roof of the building. The stone creaked mightily and then collapsed, and the dragon fell into the room, snarling.

He was black, like he should be at this time, but his scales were rimmed with a silver glow. He landed just behind her, his forepaws spread at each side. His neck whipped above her, fangs bared in malice. She looked into his eyes; they were amber.

'_The Taijiya come…' _Inuyasha rumbled, his voice barely discernable, as if speaking normally took an effort.

"It's too late." Naraku sneered, as if amused by a little girl and her pet. "Midnight strikes."

Outside a guard called midnight, and the alter suddenly crackled with power. The jewel was glowing with a horrible, tainted aura, and Naraku laughed.

Inuyasha lunged at them, but his forepaws were stopped short by Naraku's barrier. He thrashed for a moment and met Kikyo's eyes. She smirked back at him, and he roared with fury and betrayal.

'_Kikyo!'_ he screamed, lashing at the barrier

"Inuyasha, we have to go!" Kagome cried, ignoring the pain in her leg and grabbing at Inuyasha's flapping wings. He turned to her, anger and pain in his eyes, but there was intelligence there. He snapped down at her, annoyed, and continued to thrash at the barrier.

"Inuyasha!" she cried again, and Naraku chuckled. Again the dragon's head turned towards her, and his voice rumbled irritably.

'_Where would we run?'_ he asked, detestably, and threw himself at the barrier again. He was right, of course. There was no place to run, no place to hide. If they didn't stop Kikyo now, there would never be another chance.

"Move over!" she cried, pushing the scaled shoulder out of her way. The dragon obliged, revealing Kikyo and Naraku. Naraku still sat at the throne, but Kikyo knelt before the alter. The jewel was glowing, and as she watched it sent a beacon of purple light up to the heavens. The window above them, still intact, acted like a magnifying glass, sending the purple light upwards even stronger than before.

Clouds gathered above them, dark clouds lit only with the Jewel's purple light. Malicious lightning began to flash, and thunder rumbled overhead. Rain was coming, but something told her the rain was not going to be good.

"Stop it! You can still stop it!" She pleaded in desperation, and Kikyo turned back to look at her.

"You were good once, Kikyo, I know you were!" She cried, and for a moment Kikyo's cold brown eyes faltered. She turned back to the jewel, hiding her face for a moment, and Inuyasha roared.

'_Kikyo!'_ he cried again, his voice betraying the love he had for her, love that flowed unconditionally, love that could never change, no matter what evil Kikyo might do.

Kagome stared at him and saw the devotion in his eyes. He still loved her, after all she had done to him, and Kikyo was going to throw it all away? She was blessed to have someone who loved her like Inuyasha, someone who had faith in her, even though it hurt him horribly.

But Kikyo did not realize the value of what she was throwing away, because she turned, her eyes glaring and her lips twisted in a horrible smirk.

"Pitiful, in the face of your destruction that is all you can rally?" she scoffed, and turned away.

Inuyasha cried out in heartbreak, and anger surged through Kagome's veins. Kikyo had thrown it all away! What sort of heartless, cruel, beast would do that? She raised the arrow she had been clutching and concentrated her fury into it, driving the tip into Naraku's barrier with bone crushing force.

A pinkish crack appeared on the surface, and she drove the arrow down again, and again. On the fourth try the barrier cracked, and she fell forwards. She was on her feet at once, grappling at the alter. The jewel's dark beacon had stopped, but that could not be good. Dodging Kikyo's rising frame, she snatched the jewel and went sprawling, Inuyasha right behind her.

The dragon roared, smashing the remains of the barrier, and launched himself at Naraku. Surprised, but not helpless, the demon lord uttered an incantation. At once his incarnations were at his side. Kagura waved her fan, and Inuyasha snarled as the sudden gust of wind tried to blow him backwards. His wings furled quickly and he lunged forwards, snapping the fan up in his jaws, destroying the incarnation's weapon.

He struck for the little girl, Kanna, next, but her mirror was ready. His claws struck against the glass, and Inuyasha cried out in pain, backing away. The silver glow was dimming slightly, and his eyes darkened.

Kagome lunged at the girl, knowing what the mirror could do. Kanna turned, but Kagome thrust the arrow before her. A crack formed in the mirror, and she saw her reflection split. Kanna gasped, staring down at her broken weapon. Kagome drove the arrow into her shoulder.

At once the girl lit up in Sacred Fire, but she neither screamed nor reacted. She and everyone else watched as the fire spread to the floor, and crept along to the walls.

'_Kagome!'_ Inuyasha growled, staggering forwards. One of his forepaws was held off the ground and he was limping. She ran towards him, quickly bounding onto his back. Inuyasha spread his wings and leapt into the air, dodging the flames neatly, and in a moment he was in the sky again.

Naraku also rose from the flames, sitting behind Kagura on a massive feather. His baboon skin pelt was draped around him, and his perpetual sneer was still on his face. There was an ethereal shriek and three soul collectors also emerged from the fire, Kikyo entwined between them. She was too calm, too pleased.

The attitude unnerved Kagome, but before she could say anything Inuyasha cried out, swerving dangerously. She glanced to the right, just in time to see a few arrows fly up through the membrane of the dragon's wing, and the silver glow around Inuyasha's scales began to dim again. The dragon shrieked, his intelligence waning, and arrows flew up again. They bounced off his chest and scales, but punctured the membrane of his wings. Unable to fly, the dragon fell to the earth, right into the waiting ranks of guards.

They were on them at once, swords drawn, arrows knocked and firing. Somehow she fell from his back, rolling onto the ground, and he was above her, pinning her beneath him protectively. The dragon scale around her neck flew off its string. There was only the faintest silver gleam on it. Inuyasha was succumbing to the new moon and the pain of being the only thing that protected her from the attack.

She curled up into a ball as Inuyasha flailed above her, and heard the pitter patter of rain on his scales. Glancing up, past the black belly, she cried out as she saw the blood red drops of rain falling from the sky. It was raining like this over the entire empire, and the sky filled with cries of pain.

Inuyasha screamed and the guards around them fell to the ground, clutching at themselves in pain. They were changing; their flesh hardening, and extra lumps were forming around them. They were turning into dragons.

Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and her hand clutched at Kikyo's arrow. The jewel pressed into her other hand, and she glanced down at it. She had power in her hand; she had a means to fight this evil. Closing her eyes, she made her wish.

"_Please, let this end!" _she cried, and the jewel glowed in her hands, but not with the dark, tainted aura. Its aura was pink and pure, and suddenly she knew what she must do.

Crawling to her knees, she held the arrow and jewel together, trying to find a way to bind them. Desperate, she grabbed Inuyasha's scale. It was slightly rounded, and there was still a hollow where twine had been looped. She pushed the jewel into the scale, grabbing the dangling twine and wrapping it tightly around the arrow. It glowed in her hands, with pink violet light.

Above her, Inuyasha still roared, but he was fading as well, succumbing to the rain, but she couldn't worry about the rain now, she needed a bow.

"Inuyasha! Move!" she called to him, and with the last scrap of humanity in his dragon shell, he obliged, collapsing to the side.

At once the rain fell on her, thick and burning where it hit her skin. She screamed with pain, feeling herself change under its power, but she wasn't through yet.

Staggering forwards, she made her way to one of the guards, snatching the bow he had dropped. With all the strength left in her, she lifted the bow, knocked the arrow, and drew back the string. Her feet refused to support her, so she fell backwards onto something warm. Inuyasha's shoulder was somehow under her and the great black dragon lay behind her.

Thankful, she lifted the bow upwards. She aimed high, pulling the string back as far as it would go, ignoring the pain that filled her body.

"End this." She whispered to the jewel, and released the string.

Arrow, jewel, and dragon scale flew from her bow, three different auras rising into the darkening sky. Sacred power, pulsing blue and violet, weaved in between the pink aura of the jewel, and the silver glow of the dragon's scale. Tracing a line across the sky, the weapon disappeared into the clouds.

A moment later, a great flash of light lit the earth again, and she slumped back, sliding down Inuyasha's neck and leaning her head against his muzzle. She glanced towards him, looking away from the light, and she saw him looking back ather with eyes that glowed gold.

She heard the crashing of thunder and glanced up again, watching as bright pink streaks of lightning raced down towards Naraku and Kikyo. The demon lord's scream was cut off as the lightning struck him, but as the second strike flew for Kikyo she willed it away. Inuyasha still loved her, no matter what she did. He would be hurt again with her death, and she refused to let Kikyo hurt him. The strike went wide, but it's aftershock still caught the priestess and sent her crashing to the ground.

A moment later the light was gone, but the rain was still falling. The pain was gone, however, and as she looked up the rain that fell was clear, warm liquid. In every drop, there was a glimmer of silver, pink, and violet-blue.

The cries of the guards around her faded, and Inuyasha's painful trembling died down. Was it over? She didn't know, but suddenly she was drained, all of her energy having been poured into that final blast. Her eyelids drooped, and her vision blurred, and she relished the warmth of the purifying rain.

She leaned back against Inuyasha's neck, but the scales were no longer there. Instead, two strong hands caught her shoulders, two arms wrapping around her, cradling her. She recognized the familiar smell of musk; it was Inuyasha's scent.

"Inuyasha?" she asked, looking up. There was a face above her, a strange face mirrored with silver hair. It belonged to a man, a man dressed in red clothes of very fine material. Her eyes met his golden ones, and she knew in whose arms she lay.

"It's over," Inuyasha whispered, hugging her to him as she fell away into unconsciousness.

"You did it Kagome." The half-demon murmured. "This is the end, the end of dragons."

* * *

**A/N**: Apologies for the long wait, it took quite some time to get this right. However, it's not over yet. What will become of Naraku's empire? What will happen to the Taijiya? What will be done about Kikyo?

_They 'needed' plans for the Taijiya, plans for the palace, plans for an emperor, plans for the empire, what next? Were they going to discuss plans for outhouses?_

_"No… It can't be… It wasn't supposed to end this way!" he moaned, _

_'Goodbye…' she whispered before she was pulled into oblivion_


	16. Epilogue: A Last Request

**A/N:** Sorry for the lateness, I've had a bunch of stuff going on for the holidays. And my computer crashed three times in succession... And then I had to go on vacation... Eitherway, I hope you all enjoy, and happy new year!

* * *

_**.:Curse of Dragons:.**_

_**.:By: Maiden of the Seven Stars:.**_

* * *

_**.:Epilogue: A Last Request:.**_

The morning light poured through the open window, fresh crisp wind stirring the drapes and arousing the girl that lay in bed. Brown eyes opened slowly, before closing again to return to sleep. Unfortunately, sleep evaded her, there was just too much on her mind.

The past week had been insane, ever since the Taijiya had discovered the battlefield and taken over the palace. They had declared themselves and temporary guardians, and were looking for any possible heirs to the throne, since Naraku and his incarnations had disappeared. Suffice to say, the empire was in turmoil, for it wasn't likely that Naraku had had any children, or left anyone with even the weakest blood tie to the royal family alive.

And then there was the Sacred Jewel, ever since that night it had disappeared, along with the dragon's scale and Kikyo's arrow. A search had been led, but with no results. Where the jewel had gone, or if it would return, was unknown, but it's effects were obvious. Ever since that last rainstorm, the empire had been devoid of dragons. Dragon riders simply woke up to see men and women lying where their dragon's had been, as if the empire needed any more chaos.

And then, after that, there was her: Kikyo. The priestess had been found out on the battlefield, confused and disoriented. She had claimed not to know anything about what had happened, and that Naraku had bewitched her. The details were unknown, but the Taijiya had believed her and let her stay in the palace.

It was this thought that occupied her mind most often, as she walked through the corridors of the palace as if in a dream. The thought that Kikyo, so long her enemy, could be lurking around ever corner she turned, behind every door she opened… it was unnerving. Though the Taijiya believed she might have changed, there was still some icy aura around her, some evil that could not, or would not, dispel.

She often wondered how Inuyasha was holding up to it, but she didn't get to see him very often. Apparently, he had been entwined with the politics of the Taijiya when he had been in both his half-demon and dragon form, and with all the disturbances he hadn't had time to exchange anything but a passing glance. She supposed she missed his sarcastic remarks, and irritable jests, but at least their struggles were over. The dragons were gone.

Finally, as the sun began to appear as more than an arch along the horizon, she pulled herself out of the bed. Slipping on a loose green Kimono and her sandals, she decided she'd take a walk through the palace gardens. It was strange that they were in Naraku's palace, but the place didn't have that evil aura to it anymore. It was quite comfortable, really, and cozy. Perhaps it had always been like this, until the crimson spider emblem had dangled from the rafters.

The grass outside was dew covered, and her ankles were quickly wet, but it wasn't an unpleasant wetness, so she walked on. The sunlight was just hitting the base of the castle, and the dew caught it and sent it in small rainbows over the grass, a beautiful sight.

Her feet took her to the river, a majestic stream of water that rushed through the grounds, taking off to who-knows-where. A bridge rose over it, of white stone slabs, and a pagoda-like roof covered the center of it. The river's sound was soothing, and she sat down on one of the stone benches, not too close but not too far from the river.

If only her entire life had been this peaceful and this quiet. Maybe things would have turned out differently; better. But she thought about it, how she had met Inuyasha, how she had thwarted both Naraku and Kikyo and met the Taijiya and found a home, and the more she thought about it, the more content she was. She would rather have walked this path of hardship, than some pampered life in some palace. Yes, she was glad that things turned out this way.

"It's over, it's all over." She murmured aloud, reminding her yet again, and was jolted out of her requiem as a voice spoke from behind her.

"Not yet, it's not over yet." Snapped the cold, hard voice of Kikyo, and a hand reached out, pushing her to the ground.

Before she could react, she was on her back, an arrow pointed at her chest. It was Kikyo who sighted down the shaft, her brown eyes blazing with some unreadable emotion, and a chill ran up Kagome's spine. It was that evil feeling she always got when Kikyo was around, and she knew she hated this woman with a vengeance.

"I knew you couldn't have turned!" She snapped, glaring up defiantly, but Kikyo chuckled in response.

"I do love toying with people, they are so easy to manipulate." The woman sneered, and released the string.

Kagome, defenseless, did the only thing she could. Pulling her arms to her, she rolled to the side, a trail of arrows following her. By the time she realized she was at the river's edge, it was too late, and Kikyo was towering over her, a sneer on her pale features.

"You'll die if you kill me!" Kagome cried, grabbing at the earth to pull her body away from the water that lapped at her feet.

"I thought you knew, Kagome," Kikyo hissed, "I'm already dead. There is no place for me in this world now, so I might as well take you down with me. The Taijiya should have never let me stay here, but since they have, I think I'll finish off their little hero."

"You'll never get away with it!"

"Again with that line? You really need to come up with something more unique." Kikyo sneered, "But, too bad, you don't have any time" At that she stepped forwards, kicking at Kagome's hands. Her grasp slackened and she slid down the riverbank, towards the water. She reached for something, again, but as she found a hold Kikyo dislodged her yet again.

"Stop struggling, and drown like the little devil you are." Kikyo commanded, as she dislodged yet another handhold, but Kagome continued to fight back. It was only when she was more than halfway in the river, and reaching for stones, that her willpower gave way and she was swept into the water with one final scream.

---------

Plans plans and more plans… were plans the only thing those idiots could talk about? They 'needed' plans for the Taijiya, plans for the palace, plans for an emperor, plans for the empire, what next? Were they going to discuss plans for outhouses? He had had enough.

Being a straightforward sort of person, whose mind was weathered with the harsh instinct for survival, he saw no point in making all these plans. Time would pass, things would move on, and it was a complete waste of time to try to plan out every detail of it. He almost mourned the loss of her draconic size, which had excused him from some of the meetings beforehand. Almost.

It was skirting political meetings and the like that brought him to the treetops, hidden behind the leaves, lounging easily. Sometimes he would hear the warriors searching for him, but they would never find him, not after he had coerced Kirara into leaving him alone. Besides the cat demon, and the extinct dragons, no one could track him through the air.

His smug reverie was interrupted by a scream, and he jolted forwards. It was a faint sound, so faint his ears barely caught it, but he recognized the note of desperation in it. It was _her_ scream.

At once he burst out of the tree, his feet flying as he nearly flew through the grounds. When he reached the woods he found her scent and tracked it as faster than he had ever done before. Her scent stopped by the river, and it was only there that he paused.

"Idiot, did she fall in?" he snapped in exasperation, knowing it would be incredibly hard to track her, if she were still alive.

"Of course not, Inuyasha, but you were always a fool…" hissed a voice behind him, and he turned, his eyes meeting the cold ice of Kikyo's.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled defensively, a chill running up his spine. His brows furrowed in hatred and his heart cringed slightly at the cold sneer she shot him in return. Those eyes had been so warm once before, so kind, and her lips had been twitched into a hesitant smile, just like Kagome's. Again the two woman merged in his mind.

"Isn't it obvious? I pushed her." Kikyo murmured, gazing out towards the river, a sinister smile stretching across her face.

Inuyasha couldn't help it, the fury and heartache he felt stemmed his common sense. He lunged forwards, a cry of pain tearing from his throat, and as Kikyo turned around he tore his claws through her shoulder, slashing her body in half across her chest.

He forced himself to a stop, panting at the force of his fury, and turned back towards Kikyo's torn body, disbelief welling in his eyes. Did he just kill her? Did he just kill his own beloved?

He glanced at his hand, but there was no blood there, only a handful of dirt, and Kikyo laughed where here top half lay, her voice rasping but her eyes gleaming in satisfaction.

"Don't let murder trouble your conscience, I was already dead." She hissed, and her body crumbled to ashes. He stared, dumbfounded, as a small soul rose from her remains. At once there was a shriek and the three soul collectors swarmed towards it, but with a swipe of his other claw they screamed and died, wisps of smoke between his claws.

The soul floated up, uncertainly, then suddenly charged downstream as if suddenly deciding where to go. At a loss for what to do, he followed it, speeding into a run to keep up. The soul stopped as the river mellowed and Inuyasha came up behind it.

Lying half in the water in the shallows was Kagome.

He and the soul darted forwards simultaneously, and he managed to reach her first. Pulling her out of the water, he cradled her body in his arms. Her eyes were closed, and, as he listened, he didn't detect a pulse.

"No… It can't be… It wasn't supposed to end this way!" he moaned, shaking her as if she were asleep.

"Kagome! Kagome!" he cried, tears welling at his eyes.

It was then that the soul reached her body and, without hesitating, it plunged into her chest, but Inuyasha barely noticed in his sorrow.

---------

She was floating, floating in nothingness, when her eyes opened. It was so dark, so ethereal, and she yelped. Reaching out with her hands, she tried to find something, anything, to hold on to, but there was nothing there. Was this it? Was she dead?

Suddenly, there was a light in the darkness, and instinctively she turned towards it. It came closer, taking the form of a person illuminated in warm golden light.

"Inuyasha?" she called out, reaching forwards, but recoiled as the figure came closer.

It was Kikyo… but something was different. That evil chill she always got when the priestess was around was gone, and her eyes were… warm? She stared, speechless, and Kikyo regarded her almost kindly.

'_You must be surprised…'_ she murmured, and Kagome jumped at the change in her voice. It was no longer cold and harsh, but warm and kind, understanding. Was this the _real_ Kikyo? Was this the woman Inuyasha had loved? But what happened to that other Kikyo?

'_I… was not myself.' _Kikyo responded, as if reading her mind, and her eyes closed sadly. _'Those creatures you saw… the soul collectors… They were another one of Naraku's creations, like the dragons. He tried to… collect me— I suppose would be the right word, but he failed.' _She continued, a sad smile touching her lips. '_At least, he failed twice.'_

"What happened?" Kagome asked, curious by nature and starting to believe that this was no falsity, no sham.

'_Each time he failed, Naraku made another soul collector. They are powerful creatures and required much power to create, and Naraku did not have power to waste in those days.'_ Kikyo continued softly. _'On the third try he enslaved my soul and my will in Kanna's mirror. I was still alive, but he was controlling me… I was a prisoner in my own mind.'_

"But why would he do that?" she asked, confused.

'_Naraku wanted to rule, and the Taijiya were in his way.'_ Kikyo responded. _'I was a powerful priestess, which you should know since you share my power, and through me he could get to Inuyasha. By eliminating us, he would have crippled the Taijiya, and so he did. He wanted to use me further, but in his triumph over capturing Inuyasha his guard loosened and I killed myself. I should have known he would call me back.' _She sighed, and Kagome could have sworn a tear had floated down her cheek.

"That's terrible!" she couldn't help but exclaim, and Kikyo nodded solemnly. Kagome would have said more, but suddenly the blackness that surrounded them pulled tighter, like a vacuum, and she was sucked backwards. Kikyo grabbed at her hand quickly, before she was dragged away.

'_There isn't much time,'_ she said, clinging to Kagome's hand with both of hers, and Kagome's thoughts flooded through her again.

"But I'm dead, aren't I?" she asked, and Kikyo turned away.

'_I'm sorry for that, but when I walked as Naraku's slave, I still had some life in me.'_ She whispered, _'I'm giving that to you now, so you can live the life you were supposed to.'_

"But what about you?" Kagome asked.

'_I'm dead, Kagome, and the dead should rest in peace.'_ Kikyo said in response, her eyes deep and sad, _'But I'd like to ask you a favor, though I'm in no position to…' _she hesitated for a moment, and Kagome nodded.

'Tell Inuyasha that…' 

"That you love him?" Kagome asked, sure that was what she was going to say, and Kikyo looked up, their identical gazes locking. Kagome saw the love there, the pure love that Kikyo had for Inuyasha and the desire to tell him that, but the love quickly clouded with sorrow.

'_My love would be nothing but a burden on him, there is no point to tell him now that I'm dead.'_ Kikyo replied softly. _'Tell him I'm sorry… for everything.'_

She nodded in response, and Kikyo smiled again, sadly. The glowing priestess drifted forwards and wrapped her in an embrace, which she returned. At once warmth flooded her, and the pair was illuminated in golden light.

'_I'm sorry Kagome…'_ Kikyo murmured sorrowfully into her ear, backing away, and then the golden light left her body and fled to Kagome's, leaving her a faded image, nearly invisible in the darkness except for the solid feeling of their clasped hands, and the vacuum was back, stronger now because Kagome was being pulled back towards where Kikyo had come.

The priestess smiled sadly as they were pulled apart, and their grip slackened.

'_Goodbye…'_ she whispered before she was pulled into oblivion

"Goodbye." Kagome whispered as the golden light propelled her back towards life.

---------

Her eyes opened again, blinking rapidly to adjust to the light before squinting upwards. Warm arms surrounded her wet body, and as she glanced above her she saw Inuyasha's tilted face. A tear was sliding down his cheek, and she reached up quickly, brushing it away.

He was startled and his eyes snapped open, glancing down at her in disbelief through pained golden irises. She smiled back up at him, a small sad smile.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, and he stared at her, as if unable to believe his eyes.

"What for?" he asked when he finally found his voice.

"I promised you I would never let her hurt you again… but she did. Remember?"

"Of course I remember!" he said quickly, his mind flashing back to the moonless night before quickly stowing the image away. "What are you talking about?" he snapped. Irrational things always irritated him.

"At the palace… I could have killed her…" she whispered, "But I didn't."

"And you thought that if you killed her, I would be…" he murmured, and she nodded.

"You should have killed that vile thing then, and you wouldn't have— How are you alive anyways?" he asked suddenly.

"Kikyo saved me."

"What!"

"She gave me the life energy she had been using in her fragment of my soul." Kagome explained, "I spoke to her… somehow… and the Kikyo we were fighting wasn't really her! Those creatures, the soul collectors, did something to her soul so Naraku could control her. She couldn't do anything to stop him."

The meaning of her words sunk in a moment later, and Inuyasha bowed his head, hiding his eyes behind his hair. She wondered if he was crying.

"She wanted me to tell you that she was sorry." She finished softly, and their gaze met once more in silence. His eyes were so sad and misty, taking on that sorrowful look they used to bear when he was miserable. He was grieving for Kikyo, mourning for her pain and that he hadn't done anything to help her. He was regretting all his years of hatred and suffering, when it had been she who had suffered even more. It was a grief only time could erase.

But, thanks to Kikyo, they had the rest of their lives to grieve, and a spark of mischief flashed in Kagome's eyes.

Inuyasha was staring at her eyes but noticed nothing, so lost was he, and it was only when he felt fingers in his hair that he jolted back into reality. He was just in time to feel an insistent tug on his ears. Looking down, he met Kagome's mischievous smirk.

"Hey!" he snapped, but Kagome was on her feet at once, off like a shot arrow, laughing merrily.

He jumped to his feet, taking off after her, but, though he could have caught her easily, he slowed and prolonged the chase, laughing with her. After all, they had gone through so much and triumphed. They had rid the world of Naraku's corruption, and destroyed the Dragons who never should have existed in the first place. It was a time of celebration and merriment, and they should be enjoying it. They had the rest of their lives to spend together, in happiness.

They certainly deserved it.

**The End**


End file.
